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DELIGHTS OF HISTORY SERIES. 



Edited by EDWARD EQQLESTON. 

The Story of Columbus. i2mo. With loo 
Illustrations. Cloth, $1.75. 

" A brief, popular, interesting, and yet critical volume, 
just such as we should wish to place in the hands of a young 
reader. The authors of this volume have done their best to 
keep it on a hia;h plane of accuracy and conscientious work 
without losing sight of their readers." — N. }'. Indepefident. 

"This is no ordinary work. It is pre-eminently a work 
of the present time and of the future as well." — Boston 
Traveller. 

" A very just account is given of Columbus, his failings 
being neither concealed nor magnified, but his real greatness 
being made plain." — A'^eiu ^'o7-k Exavimer. 

" The illustrations are particularly well chosen and neatly 
executeil, and they add to the general excellence of the 
Aolume." — Ne%v York Times. 

The Story of Washington. i2mo. With 
100 Illustrations. Cloth, $1.75. 

The Story of Franklin. {In preparation^ 



New York: D. Appleton & Co., i, 3, & 5 Bond Street. 




POKTRAIT OF WASHINGTON. 

.[From a painting by Gilbert Stuart, made in 1795, called the " Vaughan portrait.' 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 
CHAPTER 

I. — Washington's birth 1 

II.— Stories of Washington's childhood. ... 6 

III,_Washington as a boy 1^ 

IV. — The young surveyor ^^ 

v.— Learning to be a soldier 30 

VI. — Sent into the wilderness ^^ 

VII.— Adventures in the woods 38 

VIII. — Washington begins a great war . . . -45 

IX.— The battle at Fort Necessity 51 

X.— Braddock's aid-de-camp . . ... . -57 

XL— Defeat ^^ 

XIL — Defending the frontier "^^ 

XIII. — Washington's courtship '^8 

XIV. — To the Ohio once more 82 

XV. — Washington's marriage 88 

XVL— The planter 95 

XVIL— The beginning of the Revolution . . . -101 

XVIII. — Chosen commander in chief 107 

XIX. — Before Boston 114 

XX. — Little powder and few men 121 

XXI. — Driving the enemy out 127 

XXIL— Washington at New York 135 

XXIII. — A question of dignity 143 

XXIV.— The battle of Long Island 146 

XXV.— A NIGHT retreat. . . • • • • -154 
XXVI.— Avoiding a trap 1''58 



vi CONTENtS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXVII. — A SMALL BATTLE 164 

XXVIIL — The battle of White Plains and the loss of 

Fort Washington 171 

XXIX. — Chased through New Jersey .... 177 

XXX. — The battle of Trenton 183 

XXXI. — The battle of Princeton 188 

XXXII. — Scuffling for liberty 196 

XXXIII. — The battle of the Brandywine .... 204 
XXXIV. — The battle of Germantown .... 210 

XXXV. — Defending the Delaware 217 

XXXVI.— Almost a battle 224 

XXXVII.— Valley Forge 229 

XXXVIII. — Howe lays a trap for Lafayette . . . 237 

XXXIX.— The battle of Monmouth 240 

XL. — Defensive war 250 

XLT. — The storming of Stony Point .... 255 

XLII. — Winter quarters 260 

XLIIL— The treason of Arnold and the fate of 

Andre. The use of spies .... 270 

XLIV. — A change of plans 287 

XLV.— YoRKTOWN 297 

XL VI. — The end of the war and after . . . .311 

XLVII. — Washington as President 327 

XLVIIl. — The early events of Washington's administra- 
tion ... 338 

XLIX. — Washington's second term 345 

L. — At home 356 

LI. — Washington's last days 373 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Portrait of Washington. (From a painting by Gilbert Stuart, 

made in 1795, called the '* Vaughan Portrait ") Frontispiece 

View of Fredericksburg from the Washington plantation on 

the Rappahannock 4 

Washington reproved for want of generosity .... 7 
Hall in the part of Mount Vernon built by Lawrence Washing- 
ton 14 

Facsimile of some of the rules of behavior 17 

Washington's tents, as set up by the National Museum in their 

grounds 20 

Old building at Greenway Court 23 

Case, with pencil, foot rule, and dividers, used by Washington in 

surveying 25 

Washington's compass 27 

Map showing the water ways claimed by the French . . .34 
Map of Washington's course from Williamsburg to the French 

fort 36 

Pack saddles of Washington's time 40 

Portrait of Washington in his colonel's uniform. (Painted in 

1772, by Wilson Peale) Faciiig 49 

Site of Fort Necessity. (From a painting by Paul Weber, owned 
by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania) . ... .53 

Braddock's headquarters at Alexandria 58 

A Pennsylvania wagon of the time .... Facing 59 
Parlor in the house occupied by Braddock as headquarters in 

Alexandria . . .60 



viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Map of the " Braddock Road " • . 63 

Map of location of Braddock's defeat .... Facing 65 
The field of Braddock's defeat. (From a painting by Paul Weber 

owned by the Pennsylvania Historical Society) . Facing 68 
Braddock's grave. (From a painting by Paul Weber, owned by 

the Historical Society of Pennsylvania) . . . .70 
Portrait of Martha Custis. (By permission of General G. W. 

C. Lee. Painted by Woolaston in 1757) . . Facing 78 
Portrait of Mrs. Custis's two children. (By permission of Gen- 
eral G. W. C. Lee. Painted about 1757, probably by Wool- 
aston) Facing 80 

St. Peter's Church 88 

The White House — Mrs. Custis's place. (From a photograph 
taken just before its destruction in 1862) . . Facing 90 

Parlor at Mount Vernon 91 

John Parke Custis. (From a portrait on copper, owned by 

General G. W. C. Lee) 97 

Miss Martha Custis. (From a portrait on copper, owned by 

General G. W. C. Lee) 98 

The Raleigh Tavern. (From an old print) 106 

The burning of Charlestown. (From a sketch made at the time 

by a British officer, viewing it from Beacon Hill) . .115 
View of Boston. (From a sketch made at the time, also show- 
ing Xooks Hill on the right) 124 

View of the British lines on Boston Neck. (From a sketch 

made at the time) 127 

Map of Boston, showing the fortifications of the Americans . 130 
A soldier of Congress. (From a sketch made during the war 

by a German officer) Facing 138 

Washington's headquarters in New York on first arriving . 142 

Map of the battle of Long Island 149 

View of Kingsbridge. (From an old print) .... 159 
IMap of American retreat from New York city .... 162 

Map of the battle of Harlem Heights 166 

Map of the battle of White Plains .... Facing 173 / 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ix 

PAGE 

Remains of Fort Washington as they appeared in 1850. (From 

an old print) 176 

Map of the retreat through New Jersey 179 

The blue room in the Beekman house. (Howe's headquarters 

in New York) 183 

Map of the battle of Trenton 185 

Map of the battle of Princeton 190 

Nassau Hall, Princeton College, where the British took refuge 

after the battle of Princeton 193 

Washington's camp utensils 198 

Washington's camp chest used during the Revolution . . 301 

Map showing where the English landed 204 

Map of the battle of the Brandy wine 207 

Map of the battle of Germantown 212 

Map of the vicinity of Philadelphia 218 

View of Valley Forge headquarters, with the camp ground in 

the distance 230 

Washington's office at Valley Forge 232 

Washington at Valley Forge. (From a painting made during 
the winter there, by C. W. Peak) .... Facing 235 

Map of Barren Hill 238 

Map of the battle of Monmouth . . . . . . .243 

Washington's pistol holsters, of heavy patent leather . . 251 
Washington's portfolio on which he wrote his dispatches dur- 
ing the Revolution 254 

Map of the storming of Stony Point 257 

Ruins of slaves' quarters. Mount Vernon 264 

Map of the location of Andre's capture . . . . . 275 

Washington's uniform 289 

Washington's sword, carried during the Revolution. (Pre- 
served in the State Department) 292 

Map of the siege of Yorktown 301 

The main street of Yorktown 305 

George Washington Parke Custis. (From a painting owned by 

General G. W. C. Lee) 311 



X LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Eleanor Parke Custis. (From a pastel owned by General G. W. 

C. Lee) 312 

Mrs. Washington's residence at Fredericksburg .... 313 
Washington's headquarters at Newburg in 1782-'83 . . . 314 

Mount Vernon, looking toward the river 317 

Banquet hall, added to Mount Vernon by Washington . . 319 
Pohick church, near Mount Vernon, planned by Washing- 
ton 320 

Interior of Pohick church as it appeared in Washington's 

time 322 

Mary Washington's house at Fredericksburg, as it is at pres- 
ent Facing 325 

Federal Hall. (From a water-color drawing made in 1798 by 

Robinson. New York Historical Society) .... 328 

The President's house in Cherry Street 330 

Cup and saucer. (From a set presented to Mrs. Washington by 

Van Braam or Lafayette) 332 

Case of silver-handled knives and forks belonging to Washington 334 
Water-mark from paper used by Washington during his presi- 
dency 336 

The President's house in Philadelphia 339 

Portrait of Mrs. Washington. (From a painting by Gilbert 
Stuart, made in 1796, called the " Athenaeum portrait ") . 347 

Sword presented to Washington 351 

Drawing from a miniature of George Washington Parke Custis 354 
Candlestick used by Washington when he wrote his farewell 

address 355 

Doorway to Mount Vernon (m the side farthest from the river , 356 
Mount Vernon as it appears at present . . . Facing 357 
Portrait of Washington Custis. (From a miniature owned by 

General G. W. C. Lee) 358 

Nelly Custis's harpischord and stool, and General Washington's 

flute. (Drawn at Mount Vernon) 359 

Portrait of Nelly Custis. (From a portrait owned by General 

G. W. C. Lee) 361 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xi 

PAGE 

Portrait of Washington. (From a pastel by Sharpless, made in 

1798. Owned by General G. W. C. Lee) . . • .364 
Portrait -of Mrs. Washington. (From a pastel by Sharpless, 

made in 1798. Owned by General G. W. C. Lee) . . 365 

Washington's powder bag and puff 368 

Chair from Lafayette's chateau in France. (Presented to 

Mount Vernon by Edmund de Lafayette) .... 371.! 
Washington's room. (Drawn at Mount Vernon) . Facing 377, 
The vault in which Washington was buried .... 380 



/ 



INTRODUCTION. 

By Edward Eggleston. 

This work, like its predecessor, the Story of Colum- 
bus, by the same author, is intended to introduce the gen- 
eral reader, and especially the young reader, to what is most 
interesting and delightful in the history of its subject. 
While seeking to give pleasure by the selection of inter- 
esting material and by the manner of telling the story, the 
greatest pains have been taken to keep the narrative in 
strict conformity to the facts as established by the best 
contemporaneous authority and the careful researches of 
our critical age. No subject of biography has suffered 
more from overlaudation than Washington. His well- 
poised character, the never-failing public spirit evinced in 
his career, and the rare fitness of his great qualities to their 
fortunate opportunity, captivated the imaginations not 
only of his countrymen but of the world. Even during 
his lifetime he underwent an apotheosis. Those who 
wrote about him after his death treated him not as a his- 
torical figure to be described accurately and judged im- 
partially, but rather as a demigod to be worshiped. An 
anecdote of that time represents a patriotic countryman 
as declaring that Washington was the greatest man in 
the world's history. When asked for the next greatest 



xiv INTRODUCTION. 

he named the Founder of Christianity. The story but 
slightly burlesques the attitude of the American public 
toward Washington in the first half of the nineteenth 
century. The writer well remembers an editor who at a 
somewhat later period got himself and his pa|)er into the 
greatest trouble by venturing, in his issue of the 22d of 
February, to make some playful remarks regarding proba- 
ble childish mishaps in the boyhood of Washington. 

Not only was the Father of his Country an object of 
worship to the generations following him, but he had to 
suffer the still further misfortune of becoming a model. 
Preacher and schoolmaster and schoolbook moralist 
sought to enforce every duty by his example, and to ex- 
emplify every virtue by stories of the great and good man. 
These stories were probably not invented deliberately ; 
they rather grew by a process of unconscious myth mak- 
ing. Washington, by his cherry tree, taught the noble- 
ness of truth-telling. Washington making peace with a 
man who had knocked him down the day before taught 
the wisdom of avoiding duels, and so on round the circle 
of moral and religious virtues. The effect of all this was 
exactly opposite to what had been designed. Under such 
treatment Washington as a man disappeared from view, 
and there was left instead a mere plaster cast. One so 
far removed from other men could not serve the purpose 
of an example. 

The effect on historical knowledge of all this pious 
misrepresentation was disastrous. The events of Wash- 
ington's life were distorted by a preconceived notion of 
his character. The editors of his writings went so far as 
to garble his correspondence lest one might catch his 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

mind in an attitude not perfectly statuesque. Biographers 
could present him only as exalted in a mirage. The 
very Indians incorporated the prevailing notion of him 
into their myths ; and in the later mythology of the Six 
Nations he appears as a personage dwelling apart, fast by 
the gate of paradise, and passively gazing on all who enter 
there without ever breaking silence. 

This present account of Washington, while giving 
careful attention to his military and administrative acts, 
has spared no pains to record as far as possible those 
details of his life and those personal anecdotes that pre- 
serve to us the living man. Fortunately, so much of 
Washington's intimate life has been recorded that there is 
no need to resort to mythical tales. I feel sure that the 
reader of this book will have no shadowy conception of 
him when he has enjoyed his boyish letters, has come to 
know the round of his daily duties as a planter, has seen 
him haul his seine, has watched him standing reflectively 
by a camp fire with hands behind him, and with a nose 
reddened from cold just before he made his famous cross- 
ing of the Delaware, has read his letter of advice to Nelly 
Oustis on the matter of falling in love, and such anec- 
dotes as Bernard's account of the help he rendered to the 
man who had upset his chaise and tumbled his wife into 
the ditch. It has seemed worth while to the writer of 
this life to describe the clothes he wore, the food he ate, 
and the process of powdering and tying his hair. What 
passes for the dignity of history is often only a stupid 
neglect of interesting particulars. The very infirmities of 
so great a man as Washington are needed to give relief 
to the picture. That he was austere and exacting in 



xvi INTRODUCTION. 

money affairs, while remarkably generous in some cases, is 
a fact needed to complete the view of the man ; and no 
sincere lover of historic truth would wish suppressed the 
fact that he flew into a rage and swore " till the leaves 
trembled on the trees " when he found one of his com"- 
manders playing traitor on the field of Monmouth. 

But how admirably does the character of this illustri- 
ous man bear the closest scrutiny ! The more one grows 
familiar with it the more does Washington seem to deserve 
his unique place in history. There were other men as good 
as he, there were generals more brilliant than he. Frank- 
lin was a greater philosopher, Chatham a greater states- 
man, Jefferson was greater as a political theorist ; but 
history has no other character, perhaps, in which so many 
admirable traits were so equally balanced. Hardly any 
other man has ever arisen who combined a capacity for 
manoeuvres so brilliant as the capture of Trenton, the 
night march on Princeton, and the sudden blow at long 
reach which destroyed Cornwallis, with the patience to 
wear out years in the weary waiting which was indispensa- 
ble to the success of a small and scattered population 
contending with a great power. Earely has the world 
seen a victor who sought no profit for himself, a man who 
had made himself the adored leader of his people, who 
put away from him with repulsion every suggestion that 
he should seek personal aggrandizement. Without lauda- 
tion or rhetorical flourish, the writer of this work has 
told the story, and the reader leaves the contemplation of 
Washington more than ever filled with admiration for 
one who was not the most brilliant leader or the greatest 
thinker of his age, but who, by the sum of his qualities. 



IxNTRODUCTION. xvii 

must remain the most illustrious figure in the history of 
the eighteenth century. 

A grateful acknowledgment is due for the friendly 
assistance rendered by many persons to the illustrator in 
the arduous work of gathering material for the pictures. 
It is proper to mention in particular the courteous kind- 
ness of General G. \V. Custis Lee, who put his valuable 
family portraits at the disposal of the artist. Dr. J. M. 
Toner, Mr. Allen, the librarian of the State Department, 
the Ladies Mount Vernon Association, Mr. F. D. Stone, 
of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and the librarians 
of the New York Historical Society were very obliging 
and helpful. 

Joshua's Rock, on Lake George. 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER I. 

WASHi:N^GTOi^'s BIRTH. 

1732. 

Whek a man has become famous, dignified ancestors 
are sure to be provided for him. Efforts have been made 
to connect George Washington with more than one family 
of consequence in England bearing his name. It has re- 
cently been discovered, however, that the two Washington 
brothers who came to America in Cromwell's day were the 
sons of a certain Lawrence Washington, who was a college 
graduate and a poor parson, rector over a little church at 
Purleigh, in England, and who died in 1652, leaving his 
children still young and no doubt very needy. A few 
years after their father's death — that is, about 1657 — the 
two eldest sons, John and Lawrence Washington, emi- 
grated to America. 

The wild lands of Virginia were to be had at a very 
low rate in those days, and an enterprising man might 
there become the owner of a tract as large as the estate of 
a great nobleman in England. For this reason many poor 
gentlemen, like the Washington brothers, came to Vir- 
ginia to become planters and seek their fortunes in rais- 



2 THE STORY OF WA^INGTON. 

ing tobacco, the staple of the country. Tlie elder of the 
two emigrant brothers, John Washington, who was about 
twenty-three when he landed in the Xew World, was the 
great-grandfather of George. He became in time a mem- 
ber of the Legislature, or House of Burgesses as it was 
called, and a county magistrate. Nearly twenty years after 
he had come to Virginia to live, there appeared some very 
bad omens, " a comet streaming like a horse-tail westward," 
a flight of pigeons which was so dense that the birds broke 
down the trees where they roosted, and swarms of flies 
which came out of " spigot-holes " in the earth. Old 
planters shook their heads, and remembered that there 
was such a flight of pigeons before the last Indian mas- 
sacre. In course of time two men were killed by the 
savages, as every one had expected, and the people found 
their bodies on the way to church. Some Virginians rode 
after the murderers and fell upon the first Indians they 
found, without stopping to ask whether they were the real 
offenders. Indian troubles followed, and John Washing- 
ton marched as colonel at the head of a number of Vir- 
ginians against an Indian fort in Maryland. While the 
white men were holding a parley with some Indian chiefs 
at this fort, the bodies of more massacred men were 
brought in, and the colonists were so enraged that they 
bound five of the chiefs and " knocked them on the head." 
After six weeks of siege the Indians marched out of their 
fort in the night, killing the sleeping guards and yelling 
defiance at their besiegers. This was the beginning of 
the Indian troubles which led to Bacon's rebellion ; so 
that John Washington was probably something of a rebel 
as well as an unsuccessful Indian-fighter. 



WASHINGTON'S BIRTH. 3 

Augustine Washington, the grandson of John Wash- 
ington and the father of George, was born in 1694. He 
was married twice. His first wife, whose maiden name 
was Jane Butler, was the mother of four of his children. 
Two of these died when they vvere very young. The 
mother herself died in 1728, leaving two boys, Lawrence 
and Augustine. Washington's father was married again in 
1730 to Mary Ball, who was then twenty-six years old. On 
the 11th of February, 1732, old style, the young wife had 
a boy born to her, who was named George. The date of 
his birth would be the 22d of February, new style, and 
this is the date that is celebrated as Washington's birth- 
day. The little George had afterward brothers and sisters 
named Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles, and Mil- 
dred. Mildred died in babyhood. 

Washington was born in a low-pitched, single-story 
frame house containing four rooms, and having an im- 
mense outside chimney at either end. This house stood 
in Westmoreland County, between Bridge's and Pope's 
Creeks, and from it could be seen the Potomac Eiver and 
the shore of Maryland. One breezy morning in April, 
when George was about three years old, dead leaves and 
brush were burning in the garden near this house. Some 
sparks settled among the shingles and set the house afire. 
Augustine Washington was away from home, but while 
slaves were trying to put out the fire, Mrs. Washington, 
with the cook and a maid, moved the furniture from the 
house, which soon burned down. 

As Washington's father was agent for some iron works 
at Fredericksburg, and wished to live near them, he did 
not rebuild his burned house, but went to live on an- 



4 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

other plantation, on the banks of the Rappahannock, op- 
posite to the town of Fredericksburg. This was a four- 
roomed house, with outside chimneys, much like the 
other. 

Washington's ancestors seem to have been good busi- 
ness men. True Virginia planters of that time, they 
led a robust, out-of-door life, riding about to oversee their 
plantations, hunting in the immense stretches of sur- 
rounding woods, and eating the plain food raised on 
their own lands. These men were ever ready for a 
wrangle with their Governors in the house of Burgesses, 




fiv- 



VIEW OF FREDERICKSBURG FROM THE WASHINGTON PLANTATION 
ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 



or for a brush with the Indians. But in spite of his 
homely life, the Virginia planter remembered that he was 
a gentleman, and took pains to preserve the somewhat 
antiquated manners brought by his ancestors from the 
Old World. Ships came to his own door direct from 
England, for what is called Tidewater Virginia is a land 
of peninsulas watered by rivers and estuaries. These 



WASHINGTON'S BIRTH. 5 

tobacco craft, which carried away the planter's vakiable 
crop, brought back in exchange furniture, plate, linen, 
and fine dress, to lend a touch of fashion to the other- 
wise rude life of the Virginia gentleman. Sometimes 
the planter took his family visiting over the rough roads 
in a great yellow coach, brought over also on the tobacco 
ship, and sometimes he drove with his wife and daugh- 
ters to Williamsburg to attend the balls given at this 
little capital. Th« Washingtons were of the plainer 
class of planters. They had fewer luxuries and endured 
more hardships than the members of the great families 
about them. 

George Washington was a true child of this generous, 
active, out-of-door life — a life wJiich called forth all the 
endurance and hardihood of the frontiersman, at the same 
time that it fostered dignity and courtesy, together with a 
high sense of honor and independence. 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER 11. 

- STORIES OF WASHINGTON'S CHILDHOOD. 

1735-17Jf3. 

Several of the most famous tales of Washington's 
boyhood are told by an odd character known as Parson 
Weems, who preached in Pohick church for a while after 
the war. W^ashington attended this church, and he and 
his wife often entertained W^eems in their hospitable 
house. As the odd parson no doubt gossiped with all the 
old people about the neighborhood, he had a good chance 
to pick up any anecdotes about the great man's childhood. 
Unfortunately, Parson Weems was more fond of a good 
story than of the strict truth. Having a large family to 
support, he left off preaching and became a book peddler. 
He rode about in an old-fashioned gig, selling his own 
writings and those of others. He told so many amusing 
stories and played the fiddle so well, that he was a very 
successful peddler. He would enter a bar room with a 
temperance tract he had written, and mimic a drunken 
man so perfectly that he had no trouble in selling his 
tracts to the laughing crowd. It is told of Weems that 
he once fiddled for a dance from behind a screen, lest 
people should be shocked to see a parson fiddling in such 
a place. The screen fell over, however, and revealed the 
fiddling preacher, to the great amusement of the crowd. 



STORIES OF WASHINGTON'S CHILDHOOD. 7 

The odd old parson wrote a life of Washington, in which 
he told some stories of the great man's boyhood which he 
said he had learned from an old lady who was a cousin of 
the family and had visited, when she was a girl, in the 




WASHINGTON UEl'ltoVED FOR WANT OF GENKROSITY. 



house of Mr. Augustine Washington. The stories are not 
improbable in themselves, and are doubted only because 
they are told by the queer parson, who loved a good story 
too well. ♦ 

Washington's father, when the boy was five years old — 
so runs one of these, tales — once invited the young lady 
cousin who was then visiting the family to go with him 



8 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

and little George to the orchard. ^Vhen they got there 
they found the ground covered with fallen apples, while 
the trees were so loaded that they were breaking with the 
weight of the fruit. 

" Now, George," said his father, " look here, my son : 
don't you remember when this good cousin of yours 
brought you that fine, large ai3ple last spring, how hardly 
I could i^revail on you to divide with your brothers and 
sisters, though I j^romised you that, if you would but 
do it, God Almighty would give you i:»lenty of apples 
this fall?" 

The little George hung his head, and presently said, 
"Well, pa, only forgive me this time, and see if I ever be 
so stingy any more." 

The next story told by Weems is the famous little 
hatchet tale. He says that Washington's father took a 
great deal of pains to teach the child to tell the truth, 
and charged him, should he ever happen to do anything 
wrong, to come and tell of it, when, instead of a beating, 
he should have honor and love as a reward. George, who 
was about six years old, was given a little hatchet for his 
own. One day, when he was amusing himself hacking 
pea sticks in the garden, he presently fell upon a young 
English cherry tree, which his father valued a great deal, 
and barked it very badly. When Mr. Augustine Washing- 
ton discovered the mischief he was very angry, and de- 
clared that he would not have taken five guineas for his 
cherry tree^ 

*' George," said he, " do you know who killed that 
beautiful cherry tree, yonder in the garden? " 

The boy hesitated a moment. " T can't tell a lie, pa. 



STORIES OF WASHINGTON'S CHILDHOOD. 9 

you know I can't tell a lie," said he, presently ; " I did cut 
it with my little hatchet." 

The boy's father, so says Weems, remembered his 
promise and praised George, declaring that he was glad 
that he had lost his tree, since it liad been the occasion of 
the child's daring to tell the truth. 

Another of Weems's stories is that Washington's father 
once planted the letters of the boy's name in a cabbage 
bed in the garden. Some time after, the child came into 
the house all excitement, crying: 

" pa ! come here ! come here ! " 

" What's the matter, my son ; what's the matter ? " 

" Oh, come here, I tell you, pa, come here, and I'll 
show you such a sight as you never saw in your lifetime ! " 

George took his father's hand and pulled him into the 
garden. " There, pa ! " he exclaimed, " did you ever see 
such a sight in your life ? " 

" Why, it does seem like a curious affair, sure enough, 
George." 

" But, pa, who did make it there?" asked the child. 

" It grew by chance, I suppose, my son." 

" By chance^ pa I Oh, no, it never did grow there by 
chance, pa. Indeed, that it never did ! " 

" Hey ! Why not, my son ? " 

" Why, pa, did you ever see anybody's name in a plant 
bed before ? " 

" Well^but, George, such a thing might happen, 
though you never saw it before." 

" Yes, pa, but I did never see the little plants grow up 
so as to make one single letter of my name, and then 
standing one after another to spell my name so exactly. 



10 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

• 
and all so even at the top and bottom. pa, you must 
not say that chance did all this. Indeed, somebody did 
it, and I dare say now, pa, you did it, just to scare me, be- 
cause I am your little boy." 

Whereupon, according to Weems, W^ashington's father 
drew a little lesson from the plant bed, by which he made 
him understand something about the heavenly Father, 
who made things grow for his benefit. 

Besides Weems's doubtful stories, there are two letters 
which are said to have passed between George, when he 
was nine years old, and Richard Henry Lee, a little boy, 
who afterward became a great Revolutionary character, 
and to whom Washington wrote many letters in after-life. 
George's letter seems too correct for a little boy, though 
he may have had help from the friend who is supposed to 
have composed the rhyme at the end of the little note. 
Richard wrote : 

" Pa brought me two pretty books full of pictures he 
got them in Alexandria they have pictures of dogs and 
cats and tigers and elefants and ever so many pretty things 
cousin bids me send you one of them it has a picture of 
an elefant and a little Indian boy on his back like uncle 
jo's sam pa says if I learn my tasks good he will let uncle 
jo bring me to see you will you ask your ma to let you 
come to see me. Richard He:nrt Lee." 

George answered : 

"Dear Dickey : I thank you very much for the pretty 
picture book you gave me. Sam asked me to show him 
the pictures and I showed him all the pictures in it; and 



STORIES OF WASHINGTON'S CHILDHOOD. U 

I read to him how the tame elephant took care of the 
master's little boy, and put him on his back and would 
not let anybody touch his master's little son. I can read 
three or four pages sometimes without missing a word. 
Ma says I may go to see you and stay all day with you 
next week if it be not rainy. She says I may ride my 
pony, Hero if Uncle ^Ben will go with me and lead Hero. 
I have a little piece of poetry about the picture book 
you gave me but I mustn't tell you who wrote the poetry. 

" G. W.'s compliments to R. H. L., 
And likes his book full well 
Henceforth will count him his friend, 
And hopes many happy days he may spend. 
Your good friend, 

George Washin^gtox. 

" I am goiug to get a whip top soon, and you may see 
it and whip it." 

The Sam in the letter was George's brother, and the 
" uncle jo " and " Uncle Ben " Avere no doubt old negro 
slaves. 

To turn from doubtful stories and letters to what 
we certainly know of his childhood, George Washington 
attended a little school kept by a man named Hobby. It 
was very hard, in those rude days in Virginia, for planters 
to get any education for their children, and George's 
father bought Hobby as a bond-servant,* that he might 

* The lot of poor men in that day was a hard one, and many such 
came to this country to escape misery in England. The captain of 
the ship that brought such a man was allowed to sell him for four 



12 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

have a schoolmaster for his children. The schoolhoiise 
is said to have stood in an old field — tliat is, a field ex- 
hausted by the growing of tobacco and allowed to grow 
up to pines. Here the little George learned to read, write, 
and cipher, and that by no very short cuts, for Hobby 
was probably only the poorest kind of a teacher. Weems 
tells, however, that the old man was very proud in after- 
life of having taught the great general. He drank a 
good deal, especially on Washington's birthday, and he 
would boast on such occasions that " 'twas he who, be- 
tween his knees, had laid the foundation of Washington's 
greatness." 

y£ars to repay his passage. Many men, convicted of small crimes in 
England, were transported and sold for seven years. Those con- 
victs who could read and write were often purchased for school- 
masters. 



WASHINGTON AS A BOY. 13 



CHAPTER III. 

washinCtTo:n' as a boy. 
17Jf3-17Jf6. 

When" George Washington was eleven years old, his 
father was taken suddenly ill and died, at the age of forty- 
nine. To his eldest son, Lawrence, he left a place on the 
Potomac, which was afterward named Mount Vernon, 
with other lands, and shares in the iron works which he 
superintended. To his second son, Augustine, he willed 
the plantation in Westmoreland County where George had 
been born. George himself was to have the lands on 
which the family lived on the Rappahannock, but only 
after his mother's death. The other sons had six or seven 
hundred acres each, and the daughter Betty was also pro- 
vided for. Mrs. Washington was left in charge of the 
lands of all her children until they should come of age. 

In after-life, Washington said that he remembered his 
father's fondness for him, but that he believed he owed 
his fortune and fame to his mother. Mrs. Washington 
was a person of much sternness and force. She was prob- 
ably a woman of the old Virginia type, in the time when 
planters were also frontiersmen and their children had 
few opportunities for education. Though she belonged 
to a good family, her accomplishments were of tlie plain- 
est sort, such only as were needed by a housekeeper in 



14 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



rude times. She was left a youug widow in charge of 
tracts of land and negroes, a kind of property which 
yielded only a very poor living without the greatest watch- 




HALL IN THE PART OF MOUNT VERNON BUILT BY LAWRENCE -WASHINGTON. 



fulness. She was in the habit of riding around her plan- 
tation in an open gig and overseeing all that went on, and 
she was feared by all about her. 

" Pray," said she to an overseer who wished to do 



WASHINGTON AS A BOY. 15 

otherwise than she had ordered, " who gave you any 
judgment in the matter ? I command you, sir ; there is 
nothing left for you but to obey." 

Mrs. Washington's sons stood in awe of her when they 
were grown to be tall fellows. One of George's comrades 
said in after-years that he feared her much more than he 
did his own parents. " We were as mute as mice in her 
presence," said he. 

Schools were few and poor in Washington's boyhood, 
and his mother sent him, soon after his father's death, 
back to his birthplace to live with his brother Augustine, 
who was now a grown man, to attend the school of a cer- 
tain Mr. Williams. We do not know just how much he 
learned at this new school, but his four or five years under 
Mr. Williams did not teach him correct spelling or the 
commonest rules of English grammar, as some of his 
early writings show. He seems to have learned a good 
deal from a book which has recently been discovered with 
his name in it and the date of 1742, when the boy was ten 
years old. This book is called The Young Man's Com- 
panion, or Arithmetek Made Easy, and it claims to teach 
a boy without a tutor how to " read and write true Eng- 
lish," how to write letters and make out various papers 
such as bills, bonds, releases, and wills, how to measure 
timber, and how to survey land, with various other useful 
things. Blank books are still preserved in which the boy 
Washington copied out various legal forms, some ])oor 
poetry, and one liundred and ten rules of behavior which 
are very quaint, and old, no doubt, in their origin. These 
rules are very curious. Some of them exhibit the rude 
habits of the time when it was thought necessary to teach 



16 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

a young man not to kill vermin " in the sight of others." 
Another rule, which forbids a man to put his feet " upon 
the fire, especially if there be meat before it," shows how 
common it was in early clays to live in the kitchen. The 
boy was taught, among many other things, " Shake not the 
Head, Feet, or Legs, rowl not the Eys, lift not one eye- 
brow higher than the other, wry not the mouth." He 
was to keep the nails, hands, and teeth clean, yet he was 
to show " no great concern for them." He was not to 
read in company ; he was not to play the doctor when he 
visited the sick ; he was not to laugh himself when he- 
said anything witty ; he was to see that his clothes Avere 
brushed every day, and was not to " play the peacock, look- 
ing everywhere about " him to see if he were " well 
decked " ; he was to select good company, for he was told 
that it was " better to be alone than in bad company " ; he 
was not to speak " of doleful things in a time of mirth," 
nor mention " death and wounds " at table ; he was not to 
look at the blemishes of others ; finally, he was taught 
great deference in the presence of his superiors and proper 
behavior toward his inferiors. This remarkable set of 
rules, which Washington copied so carefully when he was 
a boy, closes with the words, " Labor to keep alive in your 
breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." 
These old blank books show that the boy Washington Avas 
already practicing those painstaking habits with his pen 
which led him in later life to keep careful accounts of all 
his expenses, diaries of his doings, and copies of his let- 
ters. 

Although Washington seems to have been something 
of a model boy, he was still very much given to manly, 



18 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

• 
out-of-door sjoorts. At school, so tradition says, he loved 
to play soldier, dividing the boys into armies, and Gcgrge 
was j^retty sure to be commander on one side or the 
other. There are many tales about Washington's great 
strength in running, and his skill in throwing to a 
great distance. Perhaps the distance has grown with the 
years, for, when people make a hero of a man, they like to 
think that he showed signs of his wonderful qualities in 
boyhood ; though what throwing has to do with good 
generalship, or how foot-races lead to the presidency it 
would be hard to tell. They go to show, however, what 
was no doubt true, that Washington was a hardy, manly 
boy. To this day the very spot where George threw a 
piece of slate across the Raj^pahannock is ^lointed out. 
The slate, of course, cleared the river and landed some 
thirty yards on the opposite side. The people of Vir- 
ginia firmly believe also that Washington threw a stone 
up some two hundred feet to the arch of the natural 
bridge- from below, while some have it a silver dollar. 
Even in the Xorth there is a legend of Washington's 
throwing a stone from the top of the Palisades into the 
Hudson, Avhen he was a general. 

Parson Weems also comes in with his homely tale of 
Washington's feats of running while he was at ^Ir. Wil- 
liams's school. According to Weems, John Fitzhugh, 
Esq., made the following speech to him with regard to 
the superior qualities of Washington's legs : 

" Egad, he ran Avonderfully. We had nobody here- 
abouts that could come near him. There was a young 
Langhorn Dade, of Westmoreland, a confounded clean- 
made, tight young fellow, and a mighty swift runner too ; 



WASHINGTON AS A BOY. 19 

but then he was no match for George. Langy, indeed, 
did not like to give it up, and would brag that he had 
sometimes brought George to a tie. But I believe that 
he was mistaken, for I have seen them run together 
many a time, and George always beat him easy enough." 

Another story of Washington's boyhood tells how he 
once sat reading a book under an oak tree near the school- 
house, when the other boys had persuaded the champion 
wrestler of the county to try their strength. He downed 
all the boys except the studious George, who refused to 
join the ring. The champion presently dared Washing- 
ton to come on, or own that he was afraid. George was 
probably no more able to take a dare than to tell a lie, 
and he accordingly came on. There was a struggle of a 
few minutes, when, as the champion afterward said, "I 
felt myself grasped and hurled upon the ground with a 
jar that shook the marrow of my bones." 

Washington, like all Virginia boys, was at home on a 
horse's back. During the Revolutionary War he pre- 
sented the famous French officer, the Marquis de Chastel- 
lux, with a beautiful animal, which he assured his guest 
he had broken himself, to the wonder of the Frenchman. 
Perhaps Washington's first attempt at breaking a horse 
was on his mother's plantation, and this was an unlucky 
adventure. 

Fine horses were the pride of the Virginia gentleman, 
and Mrs. Washington kept up the stock that had been 
owned by her husband. There was one spirited sorrel 
colt which no one had succeeded in breaking. George 
and some boy friends were looking at the horses early 
one morning, when Washington announced that he was 



20 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



going to ride the sorrel. His comi^anions, boylike, dared 
him to do it. They all went to work to catch the rest- 
less animal, and together they forced a bit into his mouth. 
No sooner was this done, than Washington sprang on his 
back. The horse backed, reared, and plunged, while 
George's couirades began to be frightened about the re- 




^^^fe^^^-^_. 



WASHINGTON'S TENTS, AS SET UP BY THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 
IN THEIK GROUNDS. 



suit of their sport. But Washington kept his seat, and 
the animal finally made one great bound into the air and 
fell dead, having burst a blood-vessel. 

Immediately after this the boys were called to break- 
fast, feeling very serious over the outcome of their 
sport. Mrs. Washington began to ask them if they had 
seen her colts, and especially her favorite, the sorrel. 



WASHINGTON AS A BOY. 21 

The boys were silent, but Mrs. Washington demanded 
an answer, 

" The sorrel is dead, madam," said George. " I killed 
him." The boy then told how it all happened. Mrs. 
Washington's face was red with anger, but she presently 
said that, while she regretted the loss of her horse, she 
rejoiced in her son, who always told the truth. This 
story is told by Washington's step-grandson, who was 
brought up in his family. The point resembles that of 
the hackneyed little hatchet tale, and perhaps they both 
grew out of one incident. 

There is no doul)t a foundation of fact in the tales of 
Washington's great strength, for we know that when he 
grew to be a man he was tall and muscular, had very 
large joints, and enormous hands and feet. He wore num- 
ber thirteen boots, it is said, and was obliged to have his 
gloves made to order. A man who knew him during the 
war told that though it took two men to lift his large 
tent, wrapped up with its poles, Washington could pick it 
up with one hand and throw it into a wagon, as though 
it were a pair of saddle-bags. 



22 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. 

17Jt.6-17ol. 

Whe:n^ George Washiugtou was eight years old his 
eldest half-brother, Lawrence, then only twenty, was 
captain in a Virginia regiment which joined an expe- 
dition under Admiral Vernon to attack Cartagena in 
South America. The attack did not succeed. The 
ships did not get near enough to throw shells into the 
town, and the scaling ladders were too short. But the 
part of the forces which Lawrence commanded fought 
bravely, standing a very destructive fire for some hours 
and losing a number of men. No doubt the tales George 
heard from his brother of his adventures in this expedi- 
tion made him love to play soldier as a boy, and dream of 
going to war himself. 

Lawrence Washington was a noble and liberal-minded 
man, and he seems to have been one of the most de- 
voted of elder brothers. He married a daughter of Wil- 
liam Fairfax, and went to live on his estate on the Po- 
tomac, which he named Mount Vernon, in honor of the 
admiral under whom he had fought. His father-in-law 
lived across the river from him at a place called Belvoir. 
He was a gentleman of wealth, and the agent of his cousin, 
Lord Fairfax. Lord Fairfax was an English nobleman 



THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. 



23 








(|^^^^''^j^v;j^-^ 



OLD BUILDING AT GREENWAY COURT. 



who had fallen heir to a tract of land in Virginia so large 
that it is now divided into twenty-one counties. He had 
also estates in England, and was a man of fine education, 
and possessed some literary gifts, for he wrote papers for 
The Spectator. But a disappointment in love is said to 
have sent him to the 

wilds of Virginia. :' " "" : ^l 

He turned over his 
English property to 
his brother, and be- 
came a Virginian for 
life. At the time 
when George first 
knew him he was liv- 
ing with his cousin 
William Fairfax at Belvoir. He afterward made his 
home in a house which he built beyond the Blue Ridge, 
and called Greenway Court. Here he kept bachelor's 
hall, and spent much of his time hunting in the forests 
which stood in that day about, his house. 

When Washington was about fourteen it was proposed 
to send him to sea. Whether this grew out of his own 
boyish wishes, or the plans of his elders, is not certainly 
known ; but a brother of Mrs. Washington, who lived in 
England, wrote her a very sensible letter, in which he told 
her that, rather than go to sea, her son " had better be 
put 'prentice to a tinker ; " that at sea he would be treated 
like a dog ; that there was no chance for him in the navy ,- 
and that he would be better off as a i3lanter than as mas- 
ter of a Virginia ship. " He must not be too hasty to 
be rich," said he, " but go on gently and with patience as 



24 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

things will naturally go. This method, without aiming at 
being a fine gentleman before his time, will carry a man 
more comfortably and surely through the world than go- 
ing to sea, unless it be a good chance indeed." 

Mrs. Washington's heart soon failed her. A friend of 
hers wrote to Lawrence Washington that one word against 
George's going to sea " had more weight than ten for it." 
So the plan was given up, and the boy was sent back to 
school to study surveying. For practice he plotted off 
the fields around the schoolhouse, and put the result of 
his work down very carefully in his blank books. He 
left school the fall before he was sixteen, and spent the 
winter with his brother Lawrence at Mount Yernon. He 
practiced surveying about his brother's plantation during 
this winter. Here he often met the Fairfaxes and other 
choice company, and had a chance to j^ractice his rules of 
behavior. 

It is said that while George was living with his brother 
Lawrence, he was one day in Alexandria where a dealer 
was showing some blooded horses which he had brought 
there to sell. The boy admired them, and perhaps boasted 
a little about what he could do Avitli a horse. The dealer 
offered to give him a very unmanageable young horse if 
he would ride it to Mount Yernon and back without los- 
ing his seat. George immediately mounted the animal 
and rode off. The next day he entered the town again 
firmly seated on the wild creature. The dealer is said to 
have been willing to stand by his promise, and offered the 
horse to George ; but Washington frankly declared that 
he had not earned him, for he had been thrown once and 
dragged, though he did not lose his hold of the reins. 



THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. 



25 



way across 



the 



George Washington was the kind of boy to be a favor- 
ite with older men. Lord Fairfax selected him when he 
was barely sixteen to be a surveyor for him. Lord Fair- 
fax's laud stretched across the Blue Ridge, and he owned 
many fine valleys there which had never been surveyed. 
Emigrants were already pushing their 
mountains, selecting the finest pieces of 
land and settling on them. Lord Fair- 
fax wished to survey these lands, so that 
the settlers might have a clear title and 
pay their quit rents to the lord of the 
soil. 

George Washington and George Fair- 
fax, the eldest son of William Fairfax, 
set out on horseback, in March, 1748, for 
the Shenandoah Valley, where they were 
joined by another surveyor. Washing- 
ton kept a journal of this first surveying 
trip of his, which is very quaint with 
its odd spelling and its antique abbrevia- 
tions. He tells how they rode many 
rough miles in a day, getting now and 
then a shot at a wild turkey ; how they 
slept in a tent, every one being his own 
cook, with forked sticks for spits, and large chips for 
plates. Once the straw on which he slept caught fire, 
and one of the men saved him from burning up by 
waking him in time. At another time the tent blew 
away in the night. Once they ate dinner at a frontiers- 
man's, where there was neither tablecloth nor knives, 
and they counted themselves fortunate in having some 




CASE, WITH PENCIL, 
FOOT-RILE, AND 
DIVIDERS, USED 
BY WASHINGTON 
IN SURVEYING. 
OWNED BY GEN. 
G. W. C. LEE. 



26 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

• 
knives of their own. He relates very naively how at one 
frontier house, he " not being so good a woodsman as the 
rest of the company," stripped himself very orderly and 
went into the bed, as they called it. The bed proved 
to be a little straw, matted together, no sheets, and an 
abundance of vermin. He says that he made haste to get 
up so soon as the light had been carried away, put on his 
clothes, and stretched himself on the floor with the other 
members of the party. " Had we not been very tired," 
he writes, " I am sure we should not have slep'd much 
that night." He resolved to choose the open air and the 
fire hereafter on a surveying tour. The next day they 
rode to Frederickstown, where they found their baggage 
and made haste to change their clothes, " to get rid of ye 
Game we had catched ye night before," says the journal. 

At one place the boy surveyors were stopped several 
days at a ford by high rains and rising water. They were 
delighted, after two days of dull waiting, with the sight of 
a party of Indians returning from the warpath, " with 
only one scalp," as the journal remarks. Washington and 
Fairfax gave the Indians some liquor, which, " elevating 
their spirits, put them in ye humor of dauncing." Wash- 
ington describes the war dance that took place in the fol- 
lowing quaint words : " There manner of dauncing is as 
folio vvs, viz., they clear a Large Circle and make a great 
Fire in ye middle. Men seats themselves around it. Ye 
speaker makes a grand speech, telling them in what man- 
ner they are to daunce. After he has finished, ye best 
Dauncer jumps up, as one awaked out of a sleep, & Runs 
and Jumps about ye Ring in a most comicle manner. He 
is followed by ye Rest. Then begins there musicians to 




THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. 27 

Play. Ye mnsick is a Pot half full of water, with a Deer- 
skin stretched over it as tight as it can, & a goard with 
shott in it to rattle & a Piece of an horses tail tied to it to 
make it look fine. Ye one keeps rattling and ye others 
drumming all ye while ye others is Dauncing." 

For three years George Washington led the life, of a 
backwoods surveyor, followed about by emigrants seeking 
lands. " Since you re- 
ceived my letter in Octo- A 
ber last," he writes to a 
boy friend, " I have not 
sleep 'd above three nights 
or four in a bed, but, 
after walking a good deal 
all the day, I lay down , ' -^-^ 

^ ' "^ WASHINGTON'S COMPASS. 

before the fire upon a 

little hay, straw, fodder, or bearskin, which ever is to be 
had with man, wife and children, like a parcel of dogs 
and cats; and happy is he who gets the berth nearest 
the fire. There is nothing would make it pass off toler- 
ably but a good reward. A doubloon a day is my con- 
stant gain every day that the weather will permit my 
going out, and sometimes six pistoles." A doubloon was 
equal to seven dollars and twenty cents, while six pistoles 
amounted to twenty-one dollars and sixty cents. 

In this way the foundation was laid for Washington's 
future greatness ; hardihood, endurance, and independ- 
ence were the lessons he learned. He spent his winters 
with his brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon, and here he 
gained ease and polish of manner. He is said also to have 
been a arreat favorite with Lord Fairfax in his home at 



28 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

• 
Greenway Court, in the Shenandoah Valley, where the 
bachelor nobleman and the young surveyor had many a 
good hunt together. 

Meantime Washington had young lady friends, and 
some youthful emotions with regard to them. In the 
same- book which contains his journals is a copy of a letter 
in which he speaks of having been ill with a pleurisy, and 
says, " But purpose, as soon as I recover my strength, to 
wait on Miss Betsy, in hopes of a revocation of the former 
cruel sentence, and see if I can meet with any alteration 
in my favor." This pretty speech savors more of old- 
fashioned Southern gallantry than of the real sentiment 
which some writers see in it. Another letter, however to 
be found in the same book, contains a rather amusing 
passage in a more serious strain. 

" My place of residence," says young George Washing- 
ton, " is at present at his Lordship's, where I might, was 
my heart disengaged, pass my time very pleasantly as 
there's a very agreeable young lady lives in the same house. 
But as that's only adding fuel to fire, it makes me the 
more uneasy, for by often and unavoidably being in com- 
pany with her revives my former passion for your Low- 
land beauty ; whereas was I to live more retired from 
young women, I might in some measure eliviate my sor- 
rows, by burying that chaste and troublesome passion in 
the grave of oblivion or etarnall forgetfulness, for as I am 
well assured, that's the only antidote or remedy, that I 
ever shall be relieved by or only recess that can administer 
any cure or help to me, as I am well convinced, w^as I ever, 
to attempt anything, I should only get a denial, which 
would be only adding grief to uneasiness." 



THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. 29 

There is no doubt that Washington, being only about 
sixteen when he wrote this doleful letter, recovered in due 
time of his hopeless passion for the " Lowland beauty," 
and lived to enjoy the society of other young women, 
without so much as being reminded of his first love, 
" etarnall forgetfulness " having done its work. We may 
smile at Washington's boyish effusions, as well as his mis- 
takes in grammar and in spelling, but he soon conquered 
most of these faults, and gained a clear style in writ- 
ing as well as a thoughtful and sensible bearing. As he 
never went to school again, all these improvements must 
have been due to his own painstaking habits. 



30 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER V. 

LEARNING TO BE A SOLDIER. 

1751-1752. 

One of the most remarkable facts about the boy George 
Washington was that he was trusted with difficult tasks 
at so early an age. Being the eldest son of a widow, 
and having his own Avay to make in the world, he seems 
to have become a man before his time. When Washing- 
ton was a boy, the French in Canada, having already 
claimed the Mississippi, were pushing for the great inte- 
rior country about the Ohio. The English colonies, too, 
began to see that their growth must soon force them in 
the same direction. George's half-brothers, Lawrence and 
Augustine Washington, belonged to a body of men called 
" The Ohio Company," which was formed to push emigra- 
tion into this great new country. They sent out a famous 
pioneer named Christopher Gist to explore the Ohio Val- 
ley, and they made a treaty with the Indians, by which 
they were allowed to make settlements on one side of the 
great river. It was more difficult to find settlers, and 
Lawrence Washington, although he was beginning to fail 
in health, tried unsuccessfully to get a promise that Ger- 
man emigrants to the Ohio would be allowed to have 
their own religion, and not be obliged to support a clergy- 
man of the Church of England. In the houses of his two 



LEARNING TO BE A SOLDIER. 31 

brothers Washington thus early learned to take a great 
interest in the struggle for the Ohio. 

Wise men foresaw that there was likely to be trouble 
between the French and English colonies over the posses- 
sion of the beautiful Ohio country ; and the militia of 
Virginia were trained, and preparations began to be made 
for w^ar. The colony was divided into provinces, with an 
officer over the militia of each province. Lawrence 
Washington got his " brother George," at nineteen years 
of age, appointed to the command of one of these dis- 
tricts, with the title of adjutant- general and the rank of 
major. It was the young man's duty to exercise the 
militiamen and inspect their arms. 

Washington had not forgotten his early ambition to 
be a soldier, and he was probably as eager for war as any 
very young man would be under the circumstances. He 
studied tactics, and took fencing lessons of a Dutchman 
named Van Braam. He had hardly begun his new mili- 
tary duties, however, when he was called away by his 
brother's illness. Lawrence Washington was now suffer- 
ing from consumption. He wished to try a voyage to the 
West Indies, and asked George to go with him. The 
two brothers sailed in September, 1751, and were five 
weeks reaching Barbadoes. 

This was the only time that George Washington was 
outside of his native land. Soon after he reached the 
island he and his brother were invited to dine at a cer- 
tain house. George went reluctantly, for there was small- 
pox in the house, and he had not yet had this disease, 
which was very common in those days. Two Aveeks later 
he was taken with the smallpox, and recovered after three 



32 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

or four weeks of severe illness. Lawrence Washington 
seemed to be very much better when he first reached 
Barbadoes, but his health failed again, and he thought 
of trying a trip to Bermuda in the spring. He decided 
to send George home, in order that he might bring Mrs. 
Lawrence Washington out to meet him at Bermuda. 
The young man had a stormy passage. He kept a care- 
ful journal, however, and even copied the ship's log-book, 
setting down the direction of the wind and the number 
of miles made by the vessel daily, which shows his early 
habit of taking pains with the smallest details. 

Washington reached home in February. His brother 
Lawrence, finding that he was getting no better, returned 
to Virginia in the following summer. He did not live 
long after he came home. His will shows his affection for 
George, and his trust in the young man's character. He 
left his estates to his little daughter, an only child, who 
did not live long. In case of her death, his wife was to 
have a dower interest in them, and they were to belong 
to George Washington. Meantime George was made one 
of the executors, and he began immediately to manage 
his brother's affairs. At nineteen he was managing a 
large plantation, and riding about several counties re- 
viewing the militia on parade, training the officers, and 
inspecting arms. 



SENT INTO THE WILDERNESS. 33 



CHAPTER VI. 

SENT INTO THE WILDERNESS. 

1753. 

Before railroads were invented natural water ways 
were of vast importance. When the countr}^ was still 
wild there was no other way of penetrating it than that 
afforded by rivers and lakes. For this reason the French 
in Canada had secured Lake Champlain, which was con- 
nected by water, except for a few miles of land carriage, 
both with the St. Lawrence and the Hudson. They had 
grasped also the Great Lakes and the Mississippi which 
led through the heart of the continent. By a small carry 
from Lake Erie they were planning now to reach a new 
region by following French Creek to the Alleghany 
River, and this stream until it joined the Monongahela 
and became the Ohio. Their forts had already been 
extended to the junction of French Creek and the Alle- 
ghany, and the English colonists saw that they must soon 
be cut off from a valuable fur trade, and be shut in for- 
ever behind the Alleghany Mountains. 

Dinwiddle, the Governor of Virginia, wrote a letter in 
1753 to the commander of the French fort at Venango, 
demanding that the French should leave off building forts 
in the Ohio Valley. He chose Major George Washington, 
then twenty-one years old, to carry this letter through 
4 



34 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



hundreds of miles of wilderness to the French fort. The 
young man set out in November, 1753, with his fencing- 
master Van Braani as an interpreter, and the trader and 
frontiersman Christopher Gist as a guide and 
companion, together with several other men to 
make up the party and drive the pack 
horses which carried the necessary baggage 
and provisions. It was already very cold in ^^ 



ig'i 




MAP SHOWING THE WATERWAYS CLAIMED BY THE FRENCH. 



the Alleghanies, and the snow was ankle-deep in some 
places. Washington struck the Monongahela at Turtle 
Creek, and pushed on down the river till he reached 
the forks of the Ohio — that is, the place where this stream 
joins the Alleghany and becomes the Ohio. He selected 
a place on the tongue of land between these two rivers 
for a fort, which he thought would control all the 



SENT INTO THE WILDERNESS. 35 

country around by commanding so many streams. This 
afterward became the point for which the French and 
English struggled. 

Nothing could be done without the aid and good will 
of the Indians, so Washington and Gist held a council at 
Logstown, an Indian village not far from the forks of 
the Ohio. Washington visited an Oneida chief who lived 
here, named Monacatootha, and giving him a string of 
wampum and a twist of tobacco, asked him to send for 
the Half-king, a Seneca chief, who was out at his hunting 
cabin, and several other chiefs who were absent. When 
the Half-king came, Washington visited him in his cabin 
and talked with him about what the French were going 
to do. The Half-king said that when he had been at the 
French fort last he had told them that the Indians had 
built a council fire for them at Montreal, and told them 
to stay there, and that if they came any farther the In- 
dians would have to use a stick on them. The French 
commander had answered, " I tell you down the river I 
will go." Washington held a council at the long house 
of the Indians, and, after a good deal of Indian ceremony 
and days of tedious waiting, it was decided that the Half- 
king, Jeskakee, White Thunder, and a young hunter 
were to go with Major Washington to the French fort 
and return a certain speech belt, which would mean in 
their eyes the breaking of friendship with the French. 
After all had been settled according to Indian notions, 
regardless of Washington's impatience, the party set 
out, and encamped at a place called Murthering Town, 
where they got some dried meat and corn for provis- 
ions. The Indians also shot two fine bucks by the 



36 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 




way, and the party finally reached 
the Indian village of Venango. 
The French colors were hoist- 
ed over a honse in this town, 
from which an English 
trader had been driven. 
Here Washington fonnd 
three French officers 
and Joncaire, a half- 
breed, the son of a 
French officer 
and a Seneca 
squaw, who 
was a man 
of a. good 
deal of 



/ 



n,^ 






MAP OF WASHINGTON'S COURSE 
FROM WILLIAMSBURG TO THE 
FRENCH FORT. 



influence with the Indians. 
Washington ate supper with these 
officers, and the latter drank so much 
that they talked pretty freely to the 
young Virginia major, swearing that they 
would have the Ohio. They said they 
knew that the English could raise two men 
to their one, but that English motions were too 
slow to prevent their doing as they chose. 

Washington had a deal of trouble to get hi^ 
away from the influence of Captain Joncaire and French 
liquor. At last, however, the party started wp French 




Indians 



SENT INTO THE WILDERNESS. 37 

Creek, subsisting on bear meat, and crossing streams on 
fallen tree trunks, with their baggage strapped upon their 
backs, while they swam their horses over. The young 
major was courteously received at the French fort. While 
the officers of the post were consulting over Governor Din- 
widdle's letter, Washington made a careful observation of 
the fort, and charged his interpreter to find out how many 
canoes there were upon the shores of the creek, that he 
might get some idea of the size of the French force that 
would be sent down the river to the Ohio in the spring. 
There proved to be fifty birch-bark canoes and one hun- 
dred and seventy pine dug-outs, while many more were 
being built. 

It was now the middle of December, the snows were 
increasing, and Washington's horses were getting very 
weak, as the grass in the natural meadows along the streams 
was covered, and they had nothing to eat but corn. For 
this reason he sent the animals ahead unloaded, intend- 
ing to go back to Venango by water. 



38 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER YIL 

ADVENTURES IN THE WOODS. 

1753. 

The commandant of the French fort furnished Wash- 
ington with a canoe, which he loaded with provisions and 
liquor. But while he seemed to be very polite to the 
young Virginia major, he was secretly trying to keep the 
Indians from going back with him, that he might gain 
them over to the French side. When they were about 
to start, he offered the Indians each a joresent of a gun if 
they would stay till the next day. When Washington 
heard from the Half-king of this tempting offer, he re- 
solved to stay also, for there was no such thing as get- 
ting the Indians to forego the guns. The next day they 
got their guns, but the French now began to ply them 
with liquor. Washington said that he had never suffered 
so much anxiety in his life, but he finally got his Indians 
off on the 16th of December. The white men were in 
one canoe and the Indians in another. They made six- 
teen miles the first day and camped for the night, the 
Indians having run ahead of them. The next day brought 
them up with their Indians, who had camped and were 
hunting. The party spent the day at this spot, the 
Indians having killed three bears. One of the hunters 
had not returned by the following morning, so the 



ADVENTURES IN THE WOODS. 39 

white men pushed on and left the Indians waiting for 
him. 

The waters of the creek were falling very fast, and 
after traveling for two more days Washington's party was 
stopped by ice. The men worked for some time trying to 
break a way through the ice, and then gave it up and 
hauled their canoe a quarter of a mile across a neck of 
land to where the water was clear again. Here they were 
overtaken by the Indians, three French canoes, and the 
crew of another French boat which had been lost with her 
lading of lead and powder. They all camped for the night 
about twenty miles above Venango. By the next day the 
creek had become so low that all hands were obliged to 
get out of the canoes to keep them from upsetting and 
haul them over shoals, the icy water freezing to their 
clothes as they stood in it. The Virginians could not 
helj) being pleased, however, to see one of the French 
canoes u|)set and her lading of brandy and wine floating 
in the water, while they ran by " and let them shift for 
themselves." 

At Venango Washington was obliged to leave the In- 
dians, for White Thunder pretended to be ill, and the 
young major dared not wait any longer, as winter was set- 
ting in. The horses were very weak by this time, and their 
packs were heavy, it being necessary to carry provisions 
for man and beast. The men of the party gave up their 
horses to be used as pack animals. Washington put on 
an Indian walking dress and tramped on with his party 
through the snow for three days. This was very slow 
work, because of the weakness of the horses, and Wash- 
ington proposed to Gist that they should push ahead. 



40 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

making the rest of the journey alone and on foot. Gist 
objected that the major was not used to walking, but 
AVashington insisted. So he left his Dutch fencing-mas- 
ter, Van Braam, in charge of the pack horses, and putting 
his necessary papers into his bosom, he tied himself up 




PACK SADDLES OF WASHINGTON'S TIME. 

in a matchcoat, or Indian blanket. He and Gist then 
strapped packs on their backs loaded with provisions, 
and taking their guns in their hands set off on their lonely 
and dangerous journey. They walked eighteen miles the 
first day, and passed the night in a deserted Indian cabin, 



ADVENTURES IN THE WOODS. 41 

Washington being very much exhausted. It was now 
very cold, and the small streams were so frozen that it 
was hard to find water to drink. 

Washington and Gist made the distance the next day 
to the Indian village which bore the ominous name of 
Murthering Town. Here they met an Indian whom Gist 
had seen, he thought, at Venango, on the way up. The 
fellow called Gist by his Indian name, and asked a number 
of questions as to why the white men were traveling alone, 
and where they had left their horses. Washington wished 
to cut across the country instead of following the longer 
Indian path, so he asked this fellow if he would guide 
them, which the Indian was only too willing to do. They 
set out once more, the Indian guide carrying W^ashington's 
pack. They had walked only eight or ten miles when 
Washington's feet became so sore that he wished to en- 
camp for the night. He and Gist were beginning to sus- 
pect that their guide was taking them too much toward 
the northwest. The Indian offered to carry the major's 
gun for him, but Washington refused. The fellow now 
became surly, declaring that there were Ottawa Indians 
in these woods, who would kill and scalp them if they lay 
out, and that it would be best to go to his cabin, where 
they would be safe. Gist began to be very suspicious 
of their guide, though he did not like to let the major 
see it. Washington, hoAvever, was uneasy himself. The 
Indian insisted that he could hear the report of a gun at 
his cabin, and steered north. When the white men became 
suspicious at being led in this direction, he declared that 
he could hear two whoops at his cabin. Night was falling. 
When the party had traveled two miles farther, Wash- 



42 TPIE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

ington insisted that they should camp at the next water. 
Before finding water, however, they entered a natural 
meadow where there were no trees, and it was very light 
from the reflection on the snow. Instantly the Indian 
stopped, wheeled about, and fired upon the two white men. 

" Are you shot ? " asked Washington of Gist. 

" JS^o," answered the trader. 

Immediately the Indian ran behind a great white oak 
tree and began loading his gun. The two white men 
were upon him in a moment, however. Gist would have 
killed him, but Washington would not permit this. They 
disarmed him, and ordered him to build a fire for them 
beside a little stream, as though they meant to encamp 
here for the night. . Meantime Washington and Gist 
guarded the three guns of the party carefully while they 
held a little consultation. 

" As you will not have him killed," said Gist, " we 
must get him away, and then we must travel all night." 

Washington agreed to this plan, and Gist then went 
to the Indian and said, in order that he should not guess 
how suspicious they were of him : 

" I suppose you were lost, and fired your gun." 

The fellow assented, and insisted that he knew the way 
to his cabin, and that it was not far. 

" Well," said Gist, " do you go home, and as we are 
much tired we Avill follow your tracks in the morning." 

The Indian was glad to get off. Gist followed him 
and listened until he was sure that he was fairly gone. 
He and Washington then hurried away in an opposite di- 
rection for half a mile, when they made a fire, looked at 
their compass, set their course, and walked all night as 



ADVENTURES IN THE WOODS. 43 

fast as they could. This was a pretty hard experience for 
a young man with sore feet. . They found themselves at 
the head of Piney Creek the next morning, but they dared 
not stop, as they feared they might be tracked by their 
treacherous guide. They traveled all the next day down 
the creek. At night they found some tracks where a 
party of Indians had been hunting. They confused their 
tracks with these, and then separated for a distance, so 
that two trails could not be seen leaving this place to- 
gether. Only after they had done this did they dare to 
stop and take some sleep. 

Another day brought the two travelers to the Alle- 
ghany. They had expected to find the river frozen, but 
the solid ice extended out only about fifty yards from 
each shore, while the channel was full of floating ice. 
The two men worked all one day building a raft, with one 
small hatchet, which was the only tool they had with them. 
Just before sunset Washington and Gist got upon their 
raft. Before they were half way over the river the raft 
got jammed in the ice and was in danger of upsetting. 
Washington put out his setting pole to try to stop their 
rude craft, in order that the ice might get by. The force 
of the stream and the jamming of the ice against the pole, 
however, jerked Washington off of the raft and into ten 
feet of water. He succeeded in catching hold of one of 
the logs of the raft, and so got on again. In spite of all 
they could do, he and Gist were unable to reach the other 
shore. They had floated near an island, and here they 
left their raft and camped for the night. The sun was 
down, and it was very cold. Washington was wet to the 
skin, while Gist had all his fingers and some of his toes 



44 THE STOKY OF WASHINGTON. 

frozen. They made a fire and slept on the island all 
night. In the morning they were delighted to find that 
the river was frozen over, so that they might easily cross it. 

One more day's tramp brought Washington and Gist 
to the house of an Indian trader named Fraser. Here 
they expected to get horses. As it would take some time 
to find the animals, Washington walked about three miles 
to the mouth of the Youghiogheny, to visit a certain 
Queen Aliquippa, who had shown some jealousy because 
the major had not called on her when he had passed be- 
fore. To placate this Indian queen, Washington made 
her a present of a matchcoat — the one he had worn on his 
tramp, no doubt — and a bottle of rum, the last present 
being the more acceptable of the two, he said. 

A few more days brought W^ashington and Gist to the 
outlying settlements. They each kept a journal of their 
experiences. Washington's journal, to his surprise, was 
afterward published both in Virginia and in England, 
for men were much interested then in the question 
whether France or England was to have tlie Ohio 
country. 



WASHINGTON BEGINS A GREAT WAR. 45 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WASHINGTON BEGINS A GREAT WAR. 

There was a race between the English in A^irginia 
and the French in Canada, each wishing to be the first to 
occupy the important point of land between the rivers 
forming the Ohio. A few Virginia pioneers wei-e the 
earliest to reach the spot, where they began to build a 
little fort. Governor Dinwiddle was anxious to raise men 
to defend this position, and if all had depended on him 
it would soon have been done. Dinwiddle was a rough 
old Scotchman, stubborn, forceful, and unpopular sim- 
ply because he was Governor. There was always a petty 
struggle going on in the colonies between the Govern- 
ors and the representatives elected by the people, be- 
cause the Governors stood for an encroaching royal au- 
thority, and the people had the English love for what 
they deemed their rights. This time the struggle stood 
in the way of defendiug the Ohio, for the Virginians 
refused to grant money for this purpose so long as 
the Governor continued to charge a pistole, or three 
dollars and sixty cents, for every land title that he 
signed, and everything lagged because of a divided gov- 
ernment. 

In March, 1754, AVashington asked for a colonel's 



4,6 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

* 

commission. He got it, with the following note from a 
member of the Governor's Gouncil : 

"Dear George: I inclose you your commission. 
God prosper you with it ! " 

Thus the young man got his promotion, with the 
honor of being second in command over a little band of 
tattered poor whites, for a rough and dangerous expedi- 
tion, with no means of clothing his men, and a probabil- 
ity of starvation for want of supplies. But Washington 
was young and enthusiastic. He accepted all difficulties 
with a good heart. 

The whole of the Virginia forces amounted to some 
three hundred men, an English gentleman, Colonel Fry, 
being first in command. Washington started on the 
2d of April, 1754, with a part of the troops, Colonel 
Fry remaining behind to get the other half of the regi- 
ment ready to march. The young man had orders to 
make his way to the forks of the Ohio, to aid Captain 
Trent, who was already there with a handful of pioneers 
building a fort. But while Washington was making his 
toilsome march through the woods and over mountain 
ranges, his men felling trees and building roads as they 
went, the French were moving rapidly down tlie Alle- 
ghany in their fleet of canoes, and appeared suddenly be- 
fore the unfinished English fort. Captain Trent was 
absent, and there were only forty w^orkmen at the spot, 
in command of an ensign. The French placed the 
mouths of their cannon against the unfinished palisades 
of the fort and summoned the men to surrender, which 
they did without more ado, being allowed to march out 



WASHINGTON BEGINS A GREAT WAR. 47 

with their tools and go back to join Washington. The 
French destroyed the works, and began a larger fort which 
they called Du Quesne. 

Meanwhile Washington pushed painfully forward, 
gaining only two or three miles a day. He reached the 
Great Crossing of the Youghiogheny on the 18th of May. 
Here he thought of trying to see if he could not avoid the 
difficult road-making by moving down the Youghiogheny 
in boats. To find out whether this were possible, he 
first explored the stream himself with four men and an 
Indian in a canoe. He had not gone far before the In- 
dian guide refused to proceed unless he was paid for his 
services. As Washington had not been provided with the 
trinkets and coarse cloth used for Indian presents, he 
was forced to promise the fellow one of his own ruffled 
shirts and a matchcoat. In some places they found the 
water of the Youghiogheny deep, in others it was so 
shallow that all hands must wade. Washington made his 
way thirty miles down this stream, when he was stopped 
by rapids and a waterfall. He must give up the idea of a 
water passage, and take up once more his laborious march 
through the woods. By the 24th of May the Virginians 
had reached a place on the Youghiogheny called the Great 
Meadows. The men were encamping in these natural 
fields at the base of a somber range of mountains, when 
they were joined by a trader who had come that morning 
from a settlement recently started on the other side of the 
neighboring mountain. This settlement had been found- 
ded by Christopher Gist, W^ashington's companion in his 
previous journey. The trader brought the news that he 
had seen two Frenchmen, and that there was a large party 



48 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

of them somewhere near at hand. Washington imme- 
diately sent out scouts to reconnoiter the country. He 
ordered his men to turn a gully which crossed the mead- 
ows into a natural intrenchment, and, having cleared 
away some bushes, pronounced the place, with the en- 
thusiasm of a young soldier, " a charming field for an 
encounter." 

Two days later Gist arrived, and said that some fifty 
French soldiers had been at his place looking for the 
Half-king, and he had also seen their tracks not five miles 
from the camp at Great Meadows. At night came a mes- 
senger from the Half-king, who was on his way to join 
Washington. This chief sent word that " he had discov- 
ered the tracks of two Frenchmen, and followed them to a 
lovv^, obscure place," w^here he believed they were all en- 
camped. This was very unpleasant for Washington. He 
feared some stratagem of the French to surprise him, 
and resolved to spoil their plans. He set out at ten o'clock 
at night in a heavy rain with forty men. It was " as dark 
as pitch," and the men tumbled over one another; often 
they lost their path, and seven of them strayed away en- 
tirely. After stumbling along all night, Washington and 
his men reached the Half-king's camp, w^here they held a 
council with the Indians. The result was that the Half- 
king, Monacatootha, and a few other Indians, agreed to 
go with Washington " hand in hand" to attack the skulk- 
ing French. They accordingly marched to where the 
Frenchmen's tracks had been seen. The Half-king now 
sent two scouts ahead to find out where the enemy lay. 
They found them encamped in a little hollow surrounded 
bv rocks. 



"T^/A^V ■^''"^^^^ 




PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON IN HIS COLONEl's VNIFOEM. 

[Owned by General G. W. C. Lee. This portrait was painted in 1772 by 
Wilson Peale. It is the earliest portrait known of Washington.] 



WASHINGTON BEGINS A GREAT WAR. 49 

Washington made arrangements for an attack. The 
party continued their march, silently and in Indian file. 
They had but just surrounded the French encampment 
when the enemy discovered them. Washington gave the 
order to fire. The Frenchmen snatched up their guns 
and pointed them toward the very spot where Washington 
stood, so that the bullets flew fast about the young com- 
mander. There was sharp fighting for about fifteen min- 
utes ; then the French surrendered. Their commander, 
an ensign named Jumonville, was killed, and nine other 
men had fallen. Of these the Indians dispatched those 
who were not dead with a blow on the head, and secured 
their scalps. Twenty-two were taken prisoners. On the 
English side but one man was killed and two or three 
were wounded. Washington was very polite to the two 
officers among his prisoners, and shared with them his 
own fev/ changes of clothing. 

Such was the young soldier's first engagement. " I 
have heard the bullets whistle," he wrote to his brother, 
"and believe me, there is something charming in the 
sound." This youthful speech of Washington's was re- 
peated from mouth to mouth until it reached the ears of 
the King of England. " lie would not say so if he had 
been used to hear many," remarked his Majesty. Many 
years after, when Washington was a general, some one 
asked him if he had said such words. " If I did, it must 
have been when I was very young," the general answered. 

After the Frenchmen had been captured they showed 
a summons from the commander at Fort Du Quesne, and 
asserted that they were on the way to deliver this paper to 
the English. If this were their purpose, they went about 



50 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

• 

it in a strange way, lurking for some days in hiding near 
AYashington's camp, and sending messengers back to their 
fort to tell how the Virginians were jolaced. The French, 
however, persisted in regarding this affair as a massacre, 
and called the Virginia colonel " the cruel A^Vash- 
ington." 

In this skirmish the young commander of twenty-two 
fired the first shots in a great war which was to involve 
both Europe and America. When Washington was 
stumbling along through the darkness of a rainy night 
in search of some skulking Frenchmen, he never once 
thought of his actions having consequences so important, 
for he su23230sed that the planting of cannon against the 
palisades of the English fort at the forks of the Ohio 
would be regarded as oi3ening the war. 



THE BATTLE AT FORT NECESSITY. 51 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE BA.TTLE AT FORT NECESSITY. 

Washin'GTON" returned to the Great Meadows with 
his jDrisoners. He expected soon to be attacked ; so he 
threw up some small eartliworks, which he called Fort 
Necessity. The Half-king had sent the French scalps he 
had taken to neighboring tribes, as an invitation to engage 
in the war. He now joined the A^irginians at Fort Neces- 
sity, with Queen Aliquippa and about a hundred men, 
women, and children. Washington held a council Avith 
these people. To please Queen Aliquippa, he presented 
her son with a medal, and gave him the English name 
of Colonel Fairfax, telling him that this meant " the 
first of the council." As he had heard that the Half-king 
would be flattered to have an English name also, he 
dubbed him Dinwiddle, which he translated into " head 
of all," for an Indian could not conceive of a name with- 
out a meaning. Washington had also, like all men who 
had to deal with these people, an Indian name, his being 
Conotocaurius, or " town-destroyer." 

Colonel Fry, who was first in command of the Vir- 
ginia forces, had died on his way out at Will's Creek. 
This left young Colonel Washington at the head of the 
expedition. He was soon joined by the recruits who 



52 THE STURY OP WASHINGTON. 

• 
were with Colonel Fry, and a company of the South Car- 
olina Independent Regiment. The South Carolina men 
were called independent because, though they were colo- 
nists, like Washington's recruits, they were in the king's 
pay, and better fed, clothed, and drilled than soldiers 
hastily raised by the colonies. They refused to work at 
cutting a road, as Washington's men had done ; while 
their commander. Captain Mackey, because he was a 
king's officer, and also no doubt because he did not like 
being commanded by a stripling, refused to take the 
countersign from the Virginia colonel. But Washington 
bore these vexations with patience. As it would not do, 
as he said, to make his " poor fellows " do all the work, 
while Mackey's men marched ""at their ease," he con- 
cluded to leave the too independent company at the 
Great Meadows, while he and his Virginians advanced to 
Gist's settlement, felling the trees before them as they 
marched. 

While the few Virginians jDushed laboriously forward, 
French re-enforcements were hurrying down the water 
courses from Canada to Fort Du Quesne, under the com- 
mand of Coulon de Villiers, the brother of Jumonvilie, 
who had been shot by Washington's little party. Vil- 
liers came bent on revenging the death of his brother. 
So soon as he reached the French fort, the commandant, 
Contrecoeur, called a council and made a speech to the 
Indians, in which he said : " The English have murdered 
my children ; my heart is sick. To-morrow I shall send 
my French soldiers to take revenge." He then invited 
them to join in the attack, making them a present of 
a hatchet and two barrels of wine for a feast. The 



THE BATTLE AT FORT NECESSITY. 



53 



French were much more expert in managing the Indians 
than were the English. They were more lavish with 
presents, and this time they had much the greater num- 
ber of men, which was enough to decide most of the 
Indians to take their side in the dispute. 

Washington had made his twelve miles forward to 
Gist's settlement, where Indian runners came in daily 
with reports that the French were preparing for an 
attack with a large force. He sent for Captain Mac key's 










lis. - tm- 



SITK OF FORT NECESSITY, FROM A PAINTING BY PAUL WEBER, OWNED BY 
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



company, which, when it had come, allowing for sick and 
deserters, made his forces amount to less than four hun- 
dred men. The officers held a council of war at Gist's 
house, where it was decided to fall back to a better place 
for a battle. The toilsome march was made back to the 
Great Meadows, the men carrying baggage on their backs 
and dragging cannon over the roughest of roads, because 
they had not horses enough for this service, while the 
soldiers of the independent company coolly marched be- 
side them without putting a finger to the hard work. 



54 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

• 

Arrived at the Great Meadows, Washington put all 
hands to strengthening the intrenchments of Fort Neces- 
sity with logs. The French and Indians were but one 
day behind him, however. On the morning of July 3d 
they appeared, in a pouring rain. Washington drew up 
his men outside his feeble little fort, ordering them to 
reserve their fire till the enemy was within close range. 
The French fired at first from so great a distance that 
their balls were spent. They then made an irregular 
advance to within sixty yards and fired once more. 
Washington withdrew his men into the intrenchments, 
still reserving his fire, for he thought that, as there were 
so many of the enemy, they would try to force his 
works. This they did not do, however, but fought in true 
Indian style, from behind bushes and trees. Washing- 
ton now gave the word, and his men fired very briskly. 
Their position was wretched enough. They stood in 
trenches knee-deep with water and mud, in a drenching 
rain, sustaining all day a cross-fire from enemies who 
were mostly invisible. They had no bread, and were 
living mainly upon raw beef. Their horses and their 
cattle, on which they depended entirely for food, were 
soon picked off by the enemy. Meantime the Half-king 
chose to retire with his warriors, squaws, and children. 
He refused to take any part in a fight where he found 
himself on the losing side. He coolly remarked after- 
ward that Washington would not take his advice, and 
that, in fact, the French were cowards and the English 
fools. 

In spite of their hopeless situation, Washington and 
his men withstood the galling fire of the enemy from 



THE BATTLE AT FORT NECESSITY. 55 

eleven o'clock in the morning until eight at night, deter- 
mined to die rather than be taken. The French called 
for a parley, but Washington thought that, as they were 
so much stronger and had so many advantages, they could 
not be sincere, and refused them. At length, however, 
the French asked him to send an officer to them who 
could speak their language. The situation of the men in 
Fort Necessity was very bad. They were without provi- 
sions, their powder was almost gone, their guns were very 
foul, and they had only two screw rods for cleaning them. 
Washington accordingly sent the useful Van Braam to the 
enemy's lines, as the only other man in his regiment who 
could speak French had been wounded. After a long 
time Van Braam returned with a paper containing the 
terms which the French officer Villiers offered to the 
troops in Fort Necessity. By them it was proposed that 
the English should march out with the honors of war, 
beating their drums and taking one small cannon with 
them, while the enemy promised to protect them from the 
Indians. The prisoners recently taken by Washington 
were to be released, and two English officers were to re- 
main with the French as hostages until these prisoners, 
who had been sent to Virginia, should be returned. There 
was but one point to which the English, in their desper- 
ate situation, could have objected, and this was that the 
death of Jumonville was twice called an assassination. 
Van Braam, whose French was none of the best, read the 
paper to the English officers by the light of one tallow 
candle, which was nearly put out more than once by 
the pouring rain. He translated the objectionable word 
" death " instead of murder, and the English officers 



56 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

signed the articles. Villiers afterward boasted that he 
had made the English admit that they had murdered his 
brother. 

On the morning of the 4th of July, Washington 
and his men marched out of muddy Fort Necessity with 
drums beating and colors flying. But their condition was 
very miserable. Their cattle and horses were all killed, so 
that they were forced to leave behind most of their bag- 
gage, while they carried the wounded on their backs. The 
Indians, ever to be dreaded in a case like this, hung 
around the defeated men, plundered them of their little 
baggage, broke open the medicine-chest, and killed and 
scalped two of the wounded. These people never could 
be brought to understand the white man's w^ay of carry- 
ing on warfare, and it was very difficult to prevent a gen- 
eral massacre. The wounded were fmally left at an en- 
campment with a guard, while the remainder of the little 
army hurried back over the fifty or sixty miles to Will's 
Creek, for they were in danger of starving. 

No doubt it was a very bitter day for Washington when 
he left Fort Necessity defeated. He had set out wdth all 
the hopes of a young and ardent soldier, had rejoiced to 
hear the bullets whistle, had laid out a charming field for 
an encounter, and all had ended in failure. It proved, 
however, to be the making of George Washington that he 
was schooled in hardship and defeat. 



BRADDOCK'S AID-DE-CAMP. 57 



CHAPTER X. 

braddock's aid-de-camp. 

1755. 

For the reason that there had been so much trouble 
about rank, Governor Dinwiddle reduced the Virginia 
regiments to independent comj^anies, with no officers 
higher than captains. To become a captain of a company 
after having been a colonel in command of an expedition 
was not to the taste of a proud young Virginian, and 
Washington accordingly left the service, and began to 
settle himself for living at Mount Vernon and carrying 
on the business of a planter. 

Meanwhile both France and England were preparing to 
send armies out to enforce their claims to the Ohio Valley. 
General Braddock was sent by England to Virginia with 
one thousand regular soldiers in the spring of 1755. Brad- 
dock's chief virtues were honesty and courage. He was 
brutal, coarse, obstinate, and prejudiced. It is told of him 
that when his sister, who was a young lady of beauty and 
wealth, having squandered much of her fortune in baying 
a bankrupt lover out of prison, and wasted the rest at the 
fashionable gaming-tables of Bath, hanged herself with 
her silk girdle, Braddock calmly remarked : " Poor Fanny ! 
I always thought she would play till she would be forced to 
tuck herself up." The general was as much of a spend- 



58 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



thrift as " poor Fanny " herself. It is said that once, 
when he was about to fight a duel, his antagonist threw 
him his purse, saying : " Braddock, you are a poor dog ! 
Here, take my purse ; if you kill me you will be forced to 
run away, and then you will not have a shilling to sup- 
port you." These are some of the least disreputable tales 




BRADDOCK'S HEADQUARTERS AT ALEXANDRIA. 



about the general who was sent to America to reduce Fort 
Du Qnesne. 

Soon after he came to Virginia, Braddock invited 
young Colonel Washington to become his aid-de-camp. 
Perhaps he wished to have the advantage of the young 
man's experience. Washington's mother rode over to 
Mount Vernon to try to persuade him to refuse this offer, 



BRADDOCK'S AID-DE-CAMP. 59 

but she did not succeed ; for her son was very ambitious 
to learn more about military matters, and as he thought 
he would have the. best of chances in a regular army, 
under an experienced general, he accepted the position. 
He was to have time to settle his affairs, and then he was 
to join the English army on its march. 

The general was so slow in starting to the Indian 
country, that people remarked in England that Braddock 
was in no haste to get scalped. The truth was, that the 
crusty general was having a hard time with the colonial 
Assemblies, which were too much absorbed in opposing 
the encroachments of their Governors to furnish readily 
the aid for the war which these Governors demanded of 
them. There was trouble about getting provisions for 
the men, forage, and, above all, wagons to carry stores in. 
Braddock had no notion of half-starving, as the colonial 
soldiers had patiently done. Benjamin Franklin once 
visited the English general in his camp at Fredericks- 
town, where he was waiting for some men who had been 
sent into the back settlements of Maryland and Virginia 
to get the necessary wagons. There proved to be only 
about twenty-five of these, some of which were useless. 
Braddock stormed, declared that everything was at an 
end, and that he was sent into a country where there was 
no means for carrying baggage or stores. Franklin said 
that it was a pity that the general had not landed in 
Pennsylvania, where every farmer had his wagon. 

"Then you, sir," cried Braddock, "who are a man of 
interest there, can probably procure them for us, and I 
beg you will undertake it." 

Franklin agreed to do so, and in a short time sent for- 



60 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



ward one hundred and fifty wagons with four horses each, 
whereupon Braddock declared that Franklin was almost 
the only able and honest man to be found in the colonies. 
By May the army had reached Will's Creek, where the 
wilderness march was to begin. Washington had now 
settled his business, and he set out to join General Brad- 




PARLOR IN THE HOUSE OCCUPIED BY BRADDOCK 
IN ALEXANDRIA. 



HEADQUARTERS 



dock. There were many delays at this place, and Wash- 
ington meantime was sent to Williamsburg to bring on a 
sum of four thousand pounds belonging to the army. On 
his way back he ordered out an escort of eight militiamen 
at the town of Winchester to protect him from Indians, 



BRADDOCK'S AID-DE-CAMP. 61 

for it was not safe for a man to travel alone in the edge 
of the settlements. The eight men were as hard to raise 
" as the dead," Washington said. It took them two days 
to assemble, and he thought that " they would not have 
been more than as many seconds dispersing," had he been 
attacked. He arrived safely, however, at Will's Creek 
with the money. 

Washington found that his position in the general's 
military family was not altogether a difiBcult one. He 
said that he hoped to please him without " ceremonious 
attentions," for he declared that it could not be done with 
them. He and the testy Englishman, however, had many 
a dispute together, for Braddock cursed everything Ameri- 
can, and the young colonel defended his country warmly. 
Washington was a little surprised at some things he saw 
in the general's household. Braddock was a high liver. 
He took two cooks with him, who were supposed to be 
skilled enough to make a good dish out of a pair of boots, 
" had they but the materials to toss them up with." The 
general had no idea, however, of living upon boots. He 
complained loudly because there were no fresh provisions. 
Franklin, hearing of this grievance, sent the British offi- 
cers each a package containing sugar, tea, coffee, chocolate, 
biscuit, pepper, vinegar, cheese, butter, wine, spirits, ham, 
mustard, tongues, rice, and raisins. Meantime Washing- 
ton was amused to find that the general's admiration for 
a certain Virginia lady was all due to a present of " deli- 
cious cake and potted woodcocks." 

General Braddock knew nothing of frontier warfare, 
and was the last man to learn. He was disgusted with 
the Virginia troops which had joined his army. He 
6 



62 THE STORY OF WASHmOTON. 

caused them to be drilled, but he was angry at their 
"languid, spiritless, and unsoldierlike appearance." He 
knew that he ought to get the aid of the Indians, who had 
already been much neglected by the colonies. About fifty 
savages joined the army at Will's Creek. • The English 
soldiers gazed at these strange people, with their painted 
bodies, shaved heads, scalp-locks dressed with feathers, and 
slit ears. They observed how dexterous the Indians were 
with a rifle, and how they could throw a tomahawk to a 
great distance and strike a post with it. Braddock in- 
vited them to his tent, fired salutes for them, and gave 
them a bullock and some rum with which to hold a war 
dance. But the Indians had a strong suspicion that the 
English general regarded them " as dogs," and presently 
fell off, excepting eight men, who were used as scouts. 
These people had no patience with the slow and cumber- 
some ways of European warfare. By imitating their 
methods and treating them more as equals, the French, on 
the other hand, had gained great influence with them. 

It was well into June before Braddock's army was 
fairly started on its forest march. Three hundred men 
with axes came first, then the long line of wagons, can- 
nons, and packhorses toiled after over stumps and stones, 
mountains and marshes, while the troops were thrown out 
into the woods on each side, in flanking parties, making 
their way as best they could in close columns through 
the trees on either side of the roadway. At night the 
horses must be let out into the woods to make the best of 
a diet of leaves and young shoots. Many of them strayed 
away, or were stolen and run off by rascally drivers. 
"Washington lost one of his spare horses in this way. At 



BRADDOCK'S AID-DE-CAMP. 



63 



one place the road was so bad that the wagons had to be 

let down the side of a hill with tackle. The English 

soldiers grumbled because they must bake their corn- 

>c bread, when they camped, in holes in the 

:-ound. 

Everything was difficult and progress 

was slow. There was news that the 

French at Fort Du Quesne were weak, 

but that they expected re-enforcements. 

It was necessary to move more 

^lvvv4? q^^ickly. When the general asked 




his advice, Washington thought that he should push 
forward with a chosen band and only the most neces- 
sary stores, leaving the rest of the army to come on 
more slowly. It was decided to do this. W^ashington 
was going down with a fever, but he was greatly delighted 
at the prospect. He was disappointed, however, when 
he found that the advanced part of the army did not 
move so rapidly as he had hoped. He complained that 
they halted " to level every mole-hill." News came that 



64 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

nine hundred men were on their way to re-enforce the 
French fort. " We shall have more to do than to go up 
the hills and down again," said Washington. He was 
trying to keep up with the march, though he was now 
suffering severely with fever and pains in the head. He 
presently became so ill that he was forced to leave the 
saddle and take to a covered wagon ; but the jolting 
was intolerable. He feared to stop, lest there should 
be a battle before he caught up with the army once 
more. The doctor declared that he would not live to go 
into battle if he insisted on going on. Braddock ordered 
fever powders, and promised the young man that he 
should be brought to the front before Fort Du Quesne 
was reached. Washington was left on the road with a 
doctor and a guard. The advanced portion of the army 
pushed on, the hostile Indians discouraging bad discipline 
meanwhile by |>icking off stragglers. 







MAP OF LOCATION OF BRADDOCk's DEFEAT. 



DEFEAT. 65 



CHAPTER XI. 

DEFEAT. 
1155. 

Braddock's army had reached the mouth of Turtle 
Creek, which ran into the Monongahela eight miles from 
Fort Du Quesne. The Indian road to the fort led 
through a dangerous defile, and Braddock resolved to 
cross and recross the river rather than risk passing 
through a place where the Indians might so easily lie 
in ambush. The fords were shallow. The men crossed 
to the music of the Grenadiers' March in fine order, 
the English soldiers bright in their scarlet uniforms, 
the colonial men in blue, while the line of wagons 
and cannon kept the center. Braddock thought that 
the Indians might attack him while he was crossing 
the river, but the last ford was safely passed. Wash- 
ington had joined the army that very morning, though 
he was scarcely able to sit his horse. The wilderness 
journey was almost over, and it seemed certain that the 
French fort could not be defended against so fine an 
army. 

During all Braddock's march the Indians who clus- 
tered around Fort Du Quesne had watched the progress 
of the English army by means of their scouts. They 
observed how they marched in close order, and remarked 



66 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

that they could " shoot urn down all one pigeon." Never- 
theless, the French had a great deal of difficulty in per- 
suading the Indians to make the attemjit. When a 
French captain named Beaujeu offered them the hatchet, 
they exclaimed : " What, my father ! are you so bent upon 
death that you would sacrifice us." 

" I am determined," said Beaujeu, in a speech, " to 
go out against the enemy. What ! will you let your 
father go alone ? " Whereupon the Indians put on their 
war-paint. Beaujeu also dressed himself in full Indian 
costume. Barrels of pow^der, bullets, and flints were un- 
headed and set before the gate of the fort. Each man 
helped himself. There were some six hundred Indians, 
a number of French officers, a few Canadians, and still 
fewer French regulars, amounting in all to nine hundred 
men, who set out through the forest to waylay the ad- 
vancing enemy. 

Braddock's army had crossed the last ford about one 
o'clock on the 8th of July, 1755. The train was pushing 
along through the forest, the trees crashing before them 
as the axemen cut the road. An engineer, who was in 
front of the choppers marking the way for them, saw 
Indians coming on the run toward the army, led by a 
man in Indian dress but wearing an officer's gorget. 
This man, who was Beaujeu, waved his hat as a signal to 
the Indians to disperse to right and left, forming a half- 
moon about the advanced guard of the English army. 
The guides and choppers in the front fell back. The 
French and Indians gave the war-whoop and opened 
fire. The advanced guard of Braddock's army formed 
and fired. The Canadian soldiers fled at the first vol- 



DEFEAT. ^7 

ley, but the few French and the swarms of Indians 
held their ground. At the third volley Beaujeu and a 
dozen others among the French fell dead. The Eng- 
lish now brought two cannon into action. The Indians 
gave way. The English shouted and moved forward, 
but the French succeeded in rallying their men and 
the savages. 

Braddock had heard the firing in front. He sent 
re-enforcements to the advanced guard, ordered an aid 
forward to find out what was going on, and then, with- 
out waiting for him to return, hurried forward himself. 
At this point the advanced guard gave way and fell back 
upon the re-enforcements which were advancing, so that 
they all soon fell into a hopeless tangle in the narrow 
roadway. The colors were advanced in different direc- 
tions to separate the men of the two regiments, and Brad- 
dock ordered the officers to form their men in small com- 
panies, but the English soldiers would listen to neither 
threats nor entreaties.' Meantime the Indians were 
drawing around the army, fighting from behind trees, 
skulking under the fallen trunks and brush left by the 
choppers, and shooting from the edges of ravines which 
lay on either side of the road. The scarlet-coated regu- 
lars were huddled together in an open roadway, terror- 
stricken at the yells of the savages and the death which 
was dealt around them. They held their ground stub- 
bornly, but only to be butchered. Not more than five 
Indians could be seen at a time, and the English vol- 
leys fell harmless in the woods. The cannon were fired, 
but they did little damage to anything but the surround- 
ing trees. 



68 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

• 

The English regukrs were all unused to such warfare ; 

but the Virginians, whose listless air had so disgusted 

Braddock, did not lose their presence of mind. They 

took to the trees, to fight the Indians after their own 

fashion, but Braddock furiously ordered them back, 

though Washington is said to have begged him to let 

them fight in this way. This was not according to the 

stubborn Englishman's notion of discipline, however, 

and when some of his own men made the experiment he 

beat them back with his sword, ordering them into their 

ranks. The stupefied men fired into the air, into each 

other's ranks, everywhere, for they could see no enemy. 

Braddock rode furiously from place to place, trying to 

form the men and get them to charge the Indians, but 

it was useless. His brave officers dismounted, formed in 

platoons and advanced themselves, hoping to encourage 

the soldiery, but many fell, and it was of no avail. For 

three long hours Braddock held the field, determined to 

save the day if stubbornness would do so. He had four 

horses shot under him. There was terrible loss among 

the officers, who did their duty to a man. Out of eighty, 

sixty were killed or wounded. Washington had two 

horses shot under him, and four bullets went through 

his clothing. He showed great courage during the day. 

Once, when his horse was shot, Braddock's servant 

had trouble in extricating Washington from the fallen 

animal. 

The Indians had spread themselves along the whole 
line of the English march. At last, when every aid but 
Washington had fallen, when about half of the men were 
slain, and the afternoon was far gone, Braddock caused 




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DEFEAT. 69 

the drums to beat a retreat. As he gave the order, stand- 
ing beneath a large tree, a ball went through his right 
arm and into his lungs. He fell from his horse. His 
men, who had stood to their places with a kind of stupid 
courage, broke and ran as soon as the retreat sounded. 
Orme, a wounded aid of Braddock's, offered a purse of 
sixty guineas to any man who would carry off the general, 
but they rushed on without heeding. Braddock told 
his friends to leave him and save themselves. Two 
American officers, however, bore him off. 

About fifty Indians followed the scampering army to 
the water's edge, where the men were plunging across 
the Monongahela, the horrid war-whoop ringing in their 
ears. One of the British officers said, three weeks after 
the battle, that he could still hear the yells of the In- 
dians, and that the sound would haunt him to the day 
of his death. Braddock called a halt and tried to stop the 
men, while he sent Washington ahead to order supplies to 
be sent on by Colonel Dunbar, who commanded the rear 
portion of the army. The general succeeded in gathering 
about one hundred men around him, but they slipped off 
one at a time, and there was nothing for Braddock to do 
but to follow. 

In spite of the terror of the men, the Indians had no 
thought of pursuing them. They fell upon the battle- 
field, where almost every man secured a scalp as well as 
uniforms, grenadiers' caps, canteens, bayonets, and arms. 
After burning twelve English prisoners to death that 
night, outside the fort, they all betook themselves to 
their far-away homes, leaving the French fort quite un- 
protected. 



70 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



General Braddock's wound was mortal. Besides issu- 
ing commands, he said nothing the first day but " Who 
would have thought it ? " The next day he said, " We 
shall better know how to deal with them another time," 
and died soon after. Washington was with the general 
when he died, and he gave the young man his favorite 

body servant, a mu- 
latto named Bishop. 
Braddock was buried 
in the middle of the 
road, Washington 
reading the burial 
service over him. The 
retreating army then 
marched across their 
general's grave, that 
the enemy might not 
find it. The rear 
portion of the army, 
which had not been 
in battle, also rushed 
on for the settlements 
with those who had 
heard the war-whoop, 
leaving the frontiers 
of the colonies entirely unprotected, to the great disgust 
of Governor Dinwiddle, who said that, though he was not 
a soldier, common sense told him that this should not be 
done. 

The story was circulated in Virginia of Washington's 
death, and his dying speech. The young man wrote to 




<s. 






^ 




BRADDOCK'S GRAVE, FROM A PAINTING BY 
PArL -WEBER, OWNED BY THE HISTOR- 
ICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



DEFEAT. 71 

his brother that he could contradict the former, and that 
he had not " as yet composed the latter." He took his 
way home, feeling discouraged with his military career. 
He had twice lost his expensive officer's equipments and 
a number of horses ; had been reduced in rank, and 
" soundly whipped," as he frankly said. 



72 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XII. 

DEFENDIN^G THE FKONTIER. 

1755-1757. 

Indian" massacres followed close upon Bradclock's 
defeat. There were three hundred and fifty miles of 
frontier which must be protected, or Virginia would lose 
all her hold upon the Alleghanies. New forces were 
raised for this purpose, and George Washington was 
appointed commander of them. He was still ambitious 
to become a great soldier, but he did not like the pros- 
pect of defending with a few men so wide a stretch of 
country against Indians. He was sure that he would 
never gain any honor in this way. But the young colo- 
nel of twenty-three presently went to his post. He 
worked hard to get his small army of a thousand men, 
sometimes much less, into good order. There was a 
chain of forts to be built along the whole frontier, and 
the men must be divided into small bodies to do this, 
and to try to cover the country and protect the people. 

In spite of all that could be done, there were times 
when massacres followed one on another. Parties of 
Indians would descend on the settlements suddenly from 
woods and mountains, murder a few families, burn their 
houses, slaughter their cattle for a feast, and be gone 
before the alarm could be given and soldiers sent in pur- 



DEFENDING THE FRONTIER. 73 

suit. They haunted the roads and picked off stragglers. 
In one place two men were killed only two hours after 
Washington had ridden by the spot. The woods were 
so infested that frontiersmen were forced to hunt by 
night for fear of being discovered by the Indians. Some- 
times people were killed within a few miles of the town 
of Winchester, and the inhabitants of the borders fled, 
one family behind another, each one afraid " to stand 
in the gap of danger," until Washington feared that the 
Blue Ridge would presently become the frontier, while 
the Indians would live off the spoils that the flying peo- 
ple left behind them. 

Often there were false alarms. Once a messenger 
came express into Winchester, breathless with hurry and 
fear, saying that the Indians had been seen about twelve 
miles off at the plantation of a man named Julian, and 
that the people were flying for their lives. Washington 
immediately prepared the town for an attack, and sent out 
scouts to discover what were the movements of the 
enemy. Presently came another express, " ten times 
more terrified than the former," with the news that the 
savages were within four miles of the town, and were 
" killing and destroying all before them." The messen- 
ger declared that he had heard " constant firing and the 
shrieks of the unhappy murdered." Washington hur- 
riedly got together all the men he could find, twenty-two 
rangers and nineteen militia, and marched against the 
enemy, which proved to be three drunken soldiers, who 
were " carousing, firing pistols," and swearing at the top 
of their voices. Washington made them prisoners and 
carried them back to Wiu Chester, where he found that 
7 



74 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

his scouts had returned with the news that the Indians 
seen on Julian's plantation had proved to be a mulatto 
and a negro who were hunting cattle, and had been seen 
by Julian's child, " who alarmed the father, and the fa- 
ther the neighborhood." 

Washington divided his men into small bodies and 
kept them scouring the woods, carrying their provisions 
on their backs, lying out in bad weather with no shelter 
but the trees and rocks, searching always for the stealthy 
Indians, who were harder to catch than wild animals. 
At one time, when a number of the enemy had attacked a 
settlement, a certain Captain Lewis, with about twenty 
soldiers, went in pursuit, he and his men having first 
stripped themselves of their clothes so that they might 
run as fast as the savages. They caught up with the 
enemy, opened fire upon them, and, finding that they 
were likely to be surrounded, retreated to a stockade, 
where the Indians besieged their naked pursuers for 
two hours, giving the people of the neighborhood a good 
chance to take to their heels. The soldiers came off with 
one scalp, but they lost their clothes, and Washington was 
obliged to petition the Government for a new supply for 
them. 

At times the Indians would leave the borders of Vir- 
ginia, as Washington knew when his scouts brought him 
word that the road to Fort Du Quesne looked as though 
it had been tramped by as many feet as when Braddock's 
army had marched over it. But though the country was 
pretty quiet for months at a time, it was necessary to be 
always on the watch for the enemy. For over two years 
Washington remained in this hard and thankless position. 



DEFENDING THE FRONTIER. 75 

In spite of all he could do, he felt that he was blamed for 
the " murder of poor innocent babes and helpless fami- 
lies." He said that the tears of the women and the peti- 
tions of the men caused him such " deadly sorrow " that 
he felt as though he would give himself up to the " butch- 
ering enemy " if it would only do the people any good. 
Meantime men could not be persuaded to leave their fam- 
ilies to march against the enemy, and they were at the 
same time very selfish, each one expecting a force at his 
own door, and angry if it was placed at his neighbor's. 
Governor Dinwiddie, who would have liked to put an- 
other man in Washington's place, vexed him with con- 
trary orders. There was also in Virginia a party of men 
who were jealous of the young commander, and reported 
evils things of him and his officers. Washington was 
disgusted with a service which he thought would 
never bring him honor, and wished to resign, but his 
friends sent him words of encouragement. " Your good 
health and fortune are the toast of every table," wrote 
Colonel Fairfax. " Our hopes, dear George," said the 
Speaker of the House of Burgesses, "are all fixed on 
you." 

While he was defending the Virginia frontier, Wash- 
ington had trouble with a certain Captain Dagworthy, 
who had been commissioned by the Governor of Mary- 
land and had once held a king's commission, which made 
him think that he had a right to refuse to obey the young 
Virginian. To settle this difficulty, Washington made, in 
the winter of 1756, the journey of five hundred miles to 
Boston, accompanied by his valet Bishop. At Boston he 
laid the dispute before Governor Shirley, who commanded 



Y6 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

all the forces in America at this time. Shirley gave or- 
ders that the troublesome Dagworthy should be subject 
to Washingtou's commands. The young colonel also 
stopped at Philadelphia and New York for a short 
time. 

The story is told that while Washington was in New 
York it was boasted at the governor's table that a Brit- 
ish regiment which had just landed contained some of 
the finest-looking fellows among its officers to be found 
anywhere. Mrs. Morris turned to the governor, and said : 
" I wager your Excellency a pair of gloves that I will show 
your Excellency a finer man in the procession to-morrow 
than your Excellency can select from your famous regi- 
ment." 

" Done, madam," answered the governor. 

The next day there was a procession in honor of the 
king's birthday. In the rear came some colonial officers 
not on duty. 

" 1 see that your Excellency's eyes are turned to the 
right object," said Mrs. Morris. " What say you to your 
wager now, sir ? " 

" Lost, madam," answered the governor. " When I 
laid my wager I was not aware that Colonel Washington 
was in New York." 

Washington was indeed a very fine-looking man. It 
was while he was in New York that he met Miss Mary 
Phillipse, a young lady who was heiress to a large fortune. 
He admired Miss Phillipse very much. Some months 
after Washington's visit to New York a friend wrote to 
him that Captain Morris, who had, like Washington, been 
an officer under Braddock, was paying his attentions to 



DEFENDING THE FRONTIER. 



77 



the young lady. The friend advised Washington to go to 
New York again, but the young Virginia colonel was too 
busy with the trying duties of his frontier command to 
get even so far as Mount Vernon, and he never saw Mary 
Phillipse again until long after she had become Mrs 
Morris. 



78 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

WASHINGTON'S COURTSHIP. 

1758. 

George Washington was taken very ill in the fall 
of 1757, and was at length obliged to leave the service and 
return to Mount Yernon, where he was ill all winter. In 
the spring he was much better, and was happy to hear 
that there was to be a new expedition against Fort Du 
Quesne during the coming summer. The first William 
Pitt, afterward Lord Chatham, was now Prime Minister 
in England, and the war in America was to be carried on 
more vigorously. 

During this spring of 1758 Washington was crossing 
a ferry on the Pamunkey River. He was now a young 
man of twenty-six, six feet two inches tall, with a fine, 
muscular body, blue-gray eyes, and dark brown hair. He 
rode a noble chestnnt horse, and was followed by his 
military-looking servant Bishop, who was also mounted. 
Major Chamberlayne, a gentleman who lived near the 
ferry on the Pamunkey, hurried to the water's edge and 
invited the young man to visit him. Washington de- 
clared that he had business with the governor and coun- 
cil at W^illiamsburg, and could not wait. Major Chamber- 
layne urged with Southern hospitality. He said that he 
had a charming young widow visiting him to whom he 




[By 



PORTRAIT OF MARTHA CLSTIS. 

permission of General G. W. C. Lee. Painted by Woolastou in 1757. 



WASHINGTON'S COURTSHIP. ^9 

would introduce the young colonel. Washington at last 
consented to dine with his friend. 

The young widow was Mrs. Martha Custis. She had 
been Martha Dandridge, the daughter of Colonel John 
Dandridge, who lived on the Pamunkey River. Martha 
had been a pretty girl, a little below the usual height, 
with dark eyes, fair complexion, and brown hair. She 
played on the spinet, was sprightly and winning in her 
manners, and dressed very fashionably. She attended the 
balls, or assemblies as they were called, in Williamsburg, 
and was the belle of the little capital. One of her lovers 
was Daniel Parke Custis, a man of over thirty and the 
son and heir of a very rich man. Colonel John Custis, of 
Williamsburg. Colonel Custis wished the young man to 
marry his cousin, Evelyn Bird, who was four years older 
than he, and a lovely woman, the descendant of a high- 
bred family. But Daniel Parke Custis had refused, and 
the father in his anger had willed all his property to a lit- 
tle pet negro named Jack. His friends persuaded him to 
destroy this will, and in course of time the old gentleman 
heard so many good things of little Patsy Dandridge that 
he consented to his son's marriage with her. They were 
married in less than three weeks, being in haste to have 
it done before the old man should change his mind. 
The young couple lived very happily together for seven 
years. They had four children. Two of them died, 
however, and Daniel Parke Custis also died soon after- 
ward, leaving his wife a young widow, with a small son 
and daughter, and a large fortune divided equally among 
the three. 

It was about a year after her husband's death that 



80 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Mrs. Custis went to make a visit at the house of her 
friend Major Chamberlayne, and happened to meet there 
Colonel George Washington, who was a young man very 
much admired and respected in Virginia in those days. 
Mrs. Custis was about three months younger than Wash- 
ington. The young people are said to have fallen in love 
at first sight. However this may be, Bishop, who had 
been ordered to have the horses ready immediately after 
dinner, waited and waited, but his master did not appear. 

Washington rose to go only when it was late, and then 
Major Chamberlayne declared that no guest should leave 
his house after sunset. It was not difficult now to per- 
suade Washington to stay. He and Mrs. Custis talked 
long in the drawing-room after the others had gone to bed. 

The next day Washington rode on to Williamsburg. 
He finished his business there, and stopped on his way 
back at the home of 31 rs. Custis, which was called the 
White House. He stayed at Mrs. Custis's home until the 
following day. The time was short, Washington was off 
on a dangerous campaign, and he courted the lady and 
won her in these two days. 

Before she died, Martha Washington burned all the 
letters which had passed between herself and the general, 
probably because she did not wish her love-letters to be- 
come public ; one little note only of their days of courtship 
escaped the fire in some way. It was written after Wash- 
ington had started on his march for Fort Du Quesne 
once more, and runs : 

" Juhj 20, 1758. 

" We have begun our march for the Ohio. A courier 
is starting for Williamsburg, and I embrace the opportu- 




PORTRAIT OF MRS. CUSTIS S TWO CHILDREN. 

[By permission of General G. W. C. Lee. Painted about 1757, probably by 
Woolaston.l 



WASHINGTON'S COURTSHIP. g| 

nity to send a few words to one whose life is now insepa- 
rable from mine. Since that happy hour when we made 
our pledges to each other my thoughts have been contin- 
ually going to you as to another self. That an all-power- 
ful Providence may keep us both in safety is the prayer 
of your ever faithful & 

" Ever affectionate friend, 

"Gr. Washington." 



82 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

TO THE OHIO OXCE MORE. 

1758. 

The neAV commander under whom Washington was to 
serve was a Scotchman named John Forbes, a good sol- 
dier and a frank and simple gentleman. There were to 
be about six thousand men — Highlanders, Virginians un- 
der Washington, and a Eoyal American regiment made 
up mostly of Germans from Pennsylvania. There was a 
question as to whether the army should cut a new way 
across the mountains, or march the thirty-four miles from 
Pennsylvania, where Forbes's headquarters were, to Fort 
Cumberland, and from there follow Braddock's road. 
There was much jealousy between Pennsylvania and Vir- 
ginia on this question, as each colony would have liked 
to possess the only road to the Ohio, and thus monopolize 
the fur trade. Washington, who was then an ardent Vir- 
ginian in feeling, urged so eagerly that Braddock's road 
should be used that General Forbes declared his behavior 
to be "noways like a soldier." Washington, however, 
seems to have been mainly anxious that the expedition 
should be hurried on lest the French should have time to 
re-enforce Fort Du Quesne. " Backwardness," he wrote, 
" appears in all things but the approach of winter ; that 
jogs on apace." 



TO THE OHIO ONCE MORE. 33 

But the Virginia colonel did not know the plans of 
his general, who was directing the campaign from his 
sick-bed in Pennsylvania, while Washington was waiting 
impatiently at Fort Cumberland. Forbes had taken 
warning by the fate of Braddock, and resolved to push 
forward very slowly, making small forts as he went in 
which to store provisions, so that when he marched he 
need not be encumbered by a long line of wagons. He 
wished to be slow for another reason. He planned to 
delay until the Indians, whom the French had gathered 
from the north to defend them, should get tired of wait- 
ing, and desert their friends as Indians are prone to do. 
Then, too, he had a number of men working on the Indi- 
ans in every way to get them to renew their old friend- 
ship with the colonies and break with France. One man, 
a Moravian named Christian Frederic Post, who had 
married a converted squaw, penetrated even to the Indian 
camp about Fort Du Quesne, where he was very near be- 
ing tomahawked, his friends charging him to keep close 
by the camp fire for fear of such an event, as the French 
had offered a reward for his scalp. Poor Post, as he said, 
stuck to the camp fire as though he " had been chained 
there." But the Indians liked his pluck, and when he 
was sent a second time to the camp around Fort Du 
Quesne the older men received his message of peace 
favorably, while they kicked about the war-belt which 
the French sent them, and picked it up with a stick 
and flung it across the room. They then mocked and 
laughed at the French officers, who turned pale with fear 
and disgust. The young. Indians, however, were still 
full of " a murdering spirit," and with " bloody ven- 



84 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

geance were thirsty and drunk," as the good Moravian 
said. 

Early in the campaign the savages had begun their 
usual practice of cutting off small parties and stragglers. 
Some of the southern Indians who came in as allies were 
sent out in return upon scalping parties by Washington. 
They proved, however, the most pestiferous of friends as 
well as enemies, for they were constantly teasing for pres- 
ents, and were so impatient that it was impossible to get 
them to wait for the slow movements of an army. 

When General Forbes was told that sixty Indians 
were willing to join the army if he would go by Brad- 
dock's road, he declared that this was " a new system of 
military discipline," and that he was not to be directed 
about his measures by " sixty scoundrels." Colonel Bou- 
quet, however, adopted one Indian as his son, and every- 
thing was done to conciliate these necessary pests. 

Meantime AVashington busied himself putting his 
Virginians into Indian dress. In their hunting shirts, 
leggings, and blankets they were lightly clad for frontier 
warfare and better able to cope with Indians. By the 
first of September he was still waiting at Fort Cumber- 
land. The new road was cutting with infinite labor 
across the Alleghanies from Pennsylvania, and the can- 
non were being slowly hauled down and up the rough 
mountain sides. " Nothing but a miracle," thought 
Washington, could bring the summer's work to a happy 
ending. The advance of the army had reached a place 
called Loyalhanna. Major Grant Avith a body of 
Highlanders and some American troops, among whom 
were a number of Washington's Virginians, was sent out 



TO THE OHIO ONCE MORE. 35 

to reconnoiter Fort Du Quesne. The major succeeded in 
rousing the Indians. The Highlanders did not long 
stand the terrors of tree-fighting, but a company of Vir- 
ginians under Captain Bullet bore the whole force of the 
attack for some time. They would take no quarter, 
knowing too well the fate of Indian prisoners, and were 
killed or driven into the Alleghany, where some were 
drowned and others escaped by swimming. General 
Forbes, who had before had a poor opinion of the pro- 
vincial troops, now complimented Washington on the way 
in which his men had borne themselves. 

During the latter part of October it rained and 
snowed, so that the new road became such a mass of mud 
that the army could neither move backward nor forward. 
General Forbes, who was suffering from a serious com- 
plaint, reached Loyalhanna early in November, borne 
on a litter. A council of war was held, at which it was 
decided to go into winter quarters, and move no farther 
for that year. At this gloomy moment a scouting party 
came in with three prisoners, from whom it was learned 
that the garrison at Fort Du Qnesne was weak, and that 
the Indians had deserted it. It was decided to march 
immediately for the fort without tents or baggage. 
Washington begged to be allowed to take the lead, as he 
and his men knew these woods so well. This was grant- 
ed, and he was sent on, with one thousand men, who were 
to cut the road and keep out scouting parties. They 
threw up intrenchments at camping places for the rest of 
the army, and built a chimney at each camp for the com- 
fort of the sick general. Washington's men were in high 
spirits, and he kept a sharp lookout against surprises. 
8 



8(3 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

At midnight on the 24th of November a rumbling 
sound was heard. The next day the whole army moved 
against the fort, the Highlanders in the center, with 
Forbes on his litter, and the American soldiers on the 
right and left. Toward night they neared Fort Du 
Quesne. Here they found a well-beaten track to the fort, 
where the Indians had been used to make their prisoners 
run the gantlet. On either side of this path stood 
stakes on which were set the heads of Highlanders killed 
in Grant's affair, with a kilt hanging beneath each head. 
The Scotch soldiers no sooner saw this ghastly sight than 
they rushed for the fort with a roar like that of wild ani- 
mals. But they found only ashes where the fort had stood. 
As Washington said, the French had burned " the fort 
and run away by the light of it." The rumbling sound 
which had been heard in the English army the night be- 
fore was caused by the explosion of their powder magazine. 

General Forbes named the place where Fort Du 
Quesne had stood Fort Pitt, after the great English 
minister. Here a rude work was built to protect the few 
American soldiers who were to spend the winter on the 
spot and hold the much-coveted forks of the Ohio. Before 
he left Fort Pitt, Forbes caused the bones which still lay 
scattered on the field of Braddock's defeat to be gathered 
up and buried. Major Halket, whose father and brother 
had been killed in this battle, had come out with General 
Forbes, hoping, it is said, to find that they were perhaps 
still living as captives among the savages. One of the 
Indians present, however, asserted that he knew the very 
tree where Sir Peter Halket had fallen, and where his son 
was shot while lifting up his father's head. He led a 



TO THE OHIO ONCE MORE. 87 

party to the spot. The leaves were brushed away from 
under this tree and the bones of two men were found, one 
lying across the other. Major Halket looked among the 
bones for an artificial tooth which his father had worn, 
and found it. He is said to have fainted in the arms of 
his friends. The bones were wrapped in a Highland 
plaid and buried with the honors of war. 

The army hurried back across the mountains in De- 
cember, for the men were threatened with starvation. 
General Forbes was carried on his litter to Philadelphia, 
where the Head of Iron, as the Indians called him, died 
in the following spring. 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XV. 



WASHINGTON S MARRIAGE. 

1759. 

During the summer of 1758, while Washington had 
been waiting on the frontier for orders to march, he had 

offered himself as a 
candidate for a seat 
in the House of Bur- 
gesses. His supe- 
rior officer gave him 
permission to attend 
the election, but he 
did not choose to 
leave his post, and a 
friend of his, Colonel 
James Wood, rep- 
resented him at the 
polls and was car- 
ried around on men's 
shoulders amid a livel}^ hurrahing for Colonel Washing- 
ton. This election cost Washington about ninety dollars 
for wine, beer, cider, a dinner for his friends, and punch 
by the barrel. Such was the manner of electioneering in 
that day. 

As soon as he had come home from the Ohio, Wash- 




ST. PETER S CHURCH. 



WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE. 89 

ington resigned his command in the army and took his 
seat in the Assembly. On his way to Williamsburg he 
visited Mrs. Custis, and while he was there the wedding 
day was fixed. One of this lady's old negro servants said, 
many years afterward, that Washington visited Mrs. Cus- 
tis only four times before they were married. 

When the young colonel took his seat in the Virginia 
Legislature it was resolved to thank him in public for the 
way in which he had discharged his duties as an officer. 
The Speaker made a speech in which he praised him so 
highly that Washington was very much abashed. He rose 
to reply, but he was never a ready speaker and he was now 
so confused that he stammered, blushed, and trembled. 

" Sit down, Mr. Washington," said tho speaker ; " your 
modesty is equal to your valor, and that surpasses the 
power of any language that I possess." 

Washington was married to Mrs. Martha Custis on the 
6th of January, 1759, in the Church of St. Peter, which 
stood near the White House. There was a very fashion- 
able party assembled at the little church, the governor in 
scarlet cloth embroidered with gold, bag- wig and dress 
sword, some English army and navy officers, and a num- 
ber of members of the Assembly. Washington wore a 
suit, of blue cloth, the coat lined with red silk and 
trimmed with silver, an embroidered white satin waist- 
coat, shoe and knee buckles of gold, and a sword. His 
hair was powdered. The bride wore a petticoat of white 
quilted satin, with an overdress of white corded silk inter- 
woven with silver threads, high-heeled white satin shoes, 
diamond buckles, point-lace ruffles, pearl earrings, brace- 
lets, necklaces, and pearls in her hair. 



90 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

One of tlie most striking-looking persons at the wed- 
ding is said to have been Bishop, Washington's body serv- 
ant, who stood on the porch of the church ^ holding the 
bridegroom's handsome horse. He was dressed in the 
scarlet uniform of a British soldier. 

After the wedding the bride and her lady friends 
rode back to the White House in a coach drawn by six 
horses, with negro postilions dressed in livery. Washing- 
ton and the other gentlemen rode on horseback beside the 
coach. The day closed with a feast at the White House. 
Here Washington lived for three months, while he at- 
tended the Assembly and settled his wife's estate so that 
they might move to Mount Yernon. He was now the 
stej^father of two little children, John Parke Custis and 
Martha Parke Custis, or Jacky and Patsy, as they were 
called. Jacky was six years old, and Patsy was four. 
Washington became their guardian and took charge of 
their j^roperty for them. He was a man who was very 
much trusted, and often had the care of other people's 
concerns. 

" I am now," wrote Wasliington, after he had moved 
to Mount Vernon with Mrs. Washington, Jacky, and 
Patsy, " fixed at this seat with an agreeable consort for 
life, and hope to find more happiness in retirement than 
I ever experienced amid a wide and bustling world." 
Mount Vernon, which had for some time been a bachelor's 
ball, was renovated a little for its new mistress. In the 
spring after his marriage Washington ordered his Lon- 
don agent, who sold his tobacco and made purchases 
of goods for him, to send him " a tester bedstead with 
fashionable blue and white curtains," to match the paper 



WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE. 



91 



on the walls of a room at Mount Vernon. He also 
ordered window curtains, a fine coverlid, and coverings 
for the seats of four chairs, " to make the furniture of 
this room uniformly handsome and genteel." 

Washington's orders to his London agent the next 
fall show that there was a lady in the house. Among 









PARLOR AT MOUNT VERNON. 



[The doorway leads into the banquet-hall which was added later by 
Washinirton.l 



other things, there was to be " a salmon-colored tabby, 
with satin flowers," to be made into a sack and coat, a 
cap, fine handkerchiefs, tuckers, and ruffles of Brussels or 
point lace, " flowered " lawn aprons, silk and fine cotton 
stockings, black and white satin shoes, a black mask, a 
fashionable hat or bonnet, six pairs of kid gloves, scissors, 
pins, sewing silk, tape, and " minikin pins." Then 



92 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

there are Hsts of things ordered for Hftle Jacky and Pat- 
sey, to come out of their own estates. For Master Custis 
there were to be, among other things, linen and cambric, 
small fine handkerchiefs, gloves and laced hats, four 
pairs of strong shoes and four pairs of pumps, hand- 
some silver shoe and knee buckles, ten shillings' worth 
of toys, and six little books for children learning to 
read. 

Little Miss Custis was to have some Holland and fine 
printed linen, eight pairs of kid mits, four pairs of 
gloves, silk stockings, pumps, flowered dimity, caps, 
ruffles, tuckers, bibs, and aprons if fashionable, fans, 
masks, bonnets, and " a stiffened coat of fashionable silk, 
made to 23ack- thread stays." There were to be also for 
this small lady, ribbon, necklaces, silver sleeve buttons 
with stones, and a doll fashionably dressed, with other 
toys. 

In this way the wealthy Virginia planter, such as 
Washington now was, got the luxuries with which he 
adorned a somewhat rude and simple life in an " infant, 
woody country." He and his wife were at the mercy of 
their agent for the choice of all that they bought. Some- 
times Washington complained that the things sent to him 
were coarse or unfashionable, and said that he had heard 
that dealers liked to pnt off their unsalable goods on 
Virginia customers. When he ordered a spinet for Pat- 
sey, who was then six years old, he begged as a favor that 
his agent would not let it be known that the instrument 
was going to America, lest a poor one should be sent him. 
When his coach, or chariot as he called it, became dilapi- 
dated, he ordered a new one to be sent to him of hand- 



WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE. 93 

some and durable make, with his arms painted on it. He 
complained a year or two later that the panels had 
shrunk, split, and slipped out of the moldings, and that 
he feared it would not last much longer. Once he or- 
dered, for a building which he was putting up, window 
glass to measure nine by eleven inches. Thdy were sent 
all the way from England, and measured eight by ten 
inches. Washington wished his own clothes to be sim- 
ple, without lace or embroidery. " Plain clothes," said 
he in his orders, " with a gold or silver button, if worn in 
genteel dress, are all I desire." 

When Washington rode away from his plantation he 
was followed by his body servant. While Mrs. Washing- 
ton was still a young woman she sometimes rode beside 
him, dressed in a scarlet riding habit. But his carriage 
horses were his great pride. They were what were called 
muslin horses. At early dawn the stable boys began 
their grooming. At sunrise, Bishop, who was master of 
the stables, appeared with a muslin pocket handkerchief 
in his hand. He wiped the horses with the handkerchief, 
and if it proved to be soiled the boys were had up for pun- 
ishment. Sometimes it happened, however, that the 
muslin horses had to be taken for plowing, when for 
some reason the other horses were disabled. 

When the tobacco crop was poor, while the expenses 
of the plantation were great, Washington, who was 
always a strict and careful business man, ordered no 
finery from London and sent only a short list of necessa- 
ries. He added to the fortune which had come to him. 
He bought a great deal of land, and especially W^estern 
land, which he had a good chance to know a great deal 



94 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

about. One of his purchases was the Great Meadows, 
where he had fought his first battle. He was a careful 
and faithful guardian and a kind and tender husband. 
For forty years, from the time of his marriage to his 
death, he wore his wife's miniature about his neck next 
his breast. 



THE PLANTER. 95 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PLANTER. 

1769-177Jf. 

Although Washington, his wife, and his little step- 
children drove to visit their neighbors in a " chariot," 
dressed in fashionable English clothes, the children look- 
ing like small copies of their elders, and though Colonel 
and Mrs. Washington sometimes drove to town to attend 
a ball in the costumes of an elegant gentleman and lady, 
most of their time was spent in the duties of a plain 
planter's family. Washington rode out in all sorts of 
weather, superintending the work on his different planta- 
tions. One day he was at a hog killing, another he was try- 
ing with his smith to make a plow of his " own contriving," 
again he was surveying some fields and laying the beginning 
of a worm fence for his men to work from, or he was busy 
oiling his dogs with " hog's lard and brimstone, for the 
mange." One of his negroes was very ill, and he brought 
him to the house to nurse him ; again he rode to one of 
his places where the slaves had the smallpox, and saw 
that they were rightly cared for. Once he heard that his 
mill was likely to wash away. " I immediately hurried 
off all hands with shovels, etc.," says he, " to her assist- 
ance, and got there myself just time enough to give her a 
reprieve for this time by wheeling dirt into the place 



96 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

which the water had washed." Another time it was 
necessary for him to see to the hauling of his seine in the 
Potomac River, which flowed in front of liis place ; and he 
must be present when the herring were salted down in bar- 
rels for future use, or all would go wrong. Again he 
rode to where his carpenters were at work hewing tim- 
bers. He found that four of them had hewed only one 
hundred and twenty feet in a day. " Sat down, therefore, 
and observed," said he. While he watched the work 
went on rapidly, and he calculated that, at this rate, in 
one day they ought each to hew as many feet as they had 
all hewed in that time. 

He was, in fact, an excellent farmer. He bought the 
best books of his day on farming, and took a great deal of 
interest in his plowing, planting, and harvesting. At one 
time he arranged a number of little boxes in his garden 
containing soil from different fields on his plantation 
mixed with manure. In each of these boxes he planted 
several grains of wheat, and watered and watched them 
to see which soil would produce the best plants. 

Mrs. Washington, on her part, was an old-fashioned 
housewife, busy from morning till night, overseeing her 
house, training her servants, teaching slaves to spin, 
weave, and make clothes for the negroes, knitting, sew- 
ing, and teaching her children. 

During these years of plantation life Washington's 
sport was hunting foxes, in the company of his neighbors 
and friends. Sometimes it was the Fairfaxes who went 
with him, and often Jacky Custis joined the sport. 
Sometimes it happened that the hounds left the track 
and went in chase of deer. Washington took great pride 



THE PLANTER. 



97 



in his dogs, and gave the pups as soon as they were born 
such names as " Jupiter," " Trueman," " Tipler," " True- 
love," " Juno," " Dutchess," and " Lady," or " Vulcan," 
" Searcher," and " Sweetlips." He was also very fond of 
duck shooting. Once when he heard a man, who had 
been often warned off, shooting ducks in one of his creeks, 
he rode in chase of him. The fellow jumped into his 
canoe, pushed it off from shore, and leveled his gun at 
his pursuer. But Washington rode into the water, grasped 
the bow of the canoe, 
drew it ashore, disarmed 
the man, and gave him 
a sound thrashing. 

In 1761 Washington 
had a very serious ill- 
ness, and was thought to 
be near his " last gasp." 
He was believed either 
at this time or during 
an earlier illness to be 
doomed to die with con- 
sumption, like his broth- 
er Lawrence, and he had 
a hollow in the chest 
and a weak voice in 
after life, thought to 
have been left by this disease. This time he went to the 
Warm Springs in the mountains, over roads made almost 
impassable by fallen trees. Here he found a number of 
people "full of all manner of diseases," with no build- 
ings to shelter them. Washington was lucky to have a 




JOHN PARKE CUSTIS. 

[From a portrait on copper, owned by 
General G, W. C. Lee.] 



98 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



tent. Though he said that he once thought the " grim 
king " would master him, he finally recovered his health. 
When she was about thirteen or fourteen, Patsy Cus- 
tis was afflicted with convulsions. An iron ring was once 
put on her, because of some old superstition which made 

this a cure for fits ; but 
'^' she grew no better, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Washing- 
ton took her to the 
Warm Springs. Jacky 
Custis had a tutor at 
home for several years, 
and then Washington 
sent him to Annapolis, 
to the home of the Rev. 
Jonathan Boucher, who 
took pupils into his 
house. Washington was 
very anxious about his 
stepson, and offered to 
pay Boucher fifty or 
sixty dollars extra in a 
year if he would take 
particular care of him, for, said he, " he is a promising 
boy, the last of his family, and will possess a very large 
fortune." He wished, he said, to make him fit for " some- 
thing more useful than horse racing." 

When he was nineteen, Jack Custis fell in love with 
Eleanor, daughter of Benedict Calvert, of Mount Airy, 
Maryland, who was of a family descended from Lord 
Baltimore, and was a man of wealth. When Washington 




MISS MAKTHA CLbTIS. 

[From a portrait painted on copper, 
owned by General G. W. C. Lee.] 



THE PLANTER. 99 

heard of the engagement of the young people he did not 
oppose it, but wished Jack to finish his education before 
he married. In the spring of 1773 Washington went to 
New York with him and placed him in Kings (now 
Columbia) College. A few days after his return home 
Patsy Custis died suddenly, in one of her attacks, at the 
age of sixteen. Washington is said to have prayed ear- 
nestly at her bedside for her recovery. He felt very 
strongly for his wife's sorrow, and regretted that he had 
taken her son away from her. Jack, too, soon longed to 
be back again, and, as Mrs. Washington wished for his 
presence, he returned after three months of college life. 
In February, 1774, he was married to Nelly Calvert. 
Washington went to the wedding, but Mrs. Washington, 
who was still very sad over the loss of her daughter, did 
not go. She sent a little note to the bride, which was to 
be given to her immediately after her marriage. It ran : 

" My Dear Nelly : God took from Me a Daughter 
when June Roses were blooming. He has now given me 
another daughter, about her Age when Winter Winds 
are blowing to warm my Heart again. I am as Happy as 
One so Afflicted and so Blest can be. Pray receive my 
Benediction and a Wish that You may long live the Lov- 
ing Wife of my happy Son, and a Loving Daughter of 
" Your Affectionate Mother, 

" M. Washington." 

Washington made an adventurous trip to the Ohio 
country in 1773 to select lands to which he and other 
Virginia soldiers were entitled as a reward for their 
9 



100 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

services in the French war. He and his party rode on 
horseback to Fort Pitt, and then took a boat down the 
Ohio. They camped on shore every night, and sometimes 
Washington got out and walked, looking for fine bottom 
land. They saw many wild turkeys and deer browsing 
along the shore or drinking at the water's edge. Some 
of them they shot, and they also killed five buffaloes. 
They were alarmed at one place by the tale that two 
traders had been killed below by Indians. They found, 
however, that the men had been drowned in crossing the 
river. They met a company of Indians, and one chief 
among them told how many times he had aimed at AVash- 
ington on the day of Brad dock's defeat and failed to hit 
him. He declared that the Great Spirit protected the 
colonel, and that he could never be killed. Lands were 
selected on the Great Kanawha. Washington's share 
was fifteen thousand acres. On the eve of the Revolution 
he was busy sending out a party of bond servants and 
slaves to improve these lands, forwarding among other 
things two thousand peach stones to be planted on them. 
He also explored the Great Dismal Swamp at one time to 
see whether these waste lands could not be improved by 
drainage, and slept one night on some high ground in the 
center of this great waste. 



THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. IQI 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE begin:n'ing of the revolution. 
1765-1774. 

The people who first settled America brought from 
England a strong love for liberty and self-government. 
Each colony was allowed, under more or less restriction, to 
make its own laws, and the people elected assemblies for 
this purpose. But they had to keep up a continual strug- 
gle to preserve their liberties against the encroachments 
of the king and the English Parliament. They particu- 
larly disliked many of the governors appointed from 
England to rule them. Parliament, which claimed the 
right to regulate their trade, would not allow foreign 
ships to visit the colonies, and compelled the colonists to 
sell most of their principal commodities in England, and 
buy only English goods. The American customhouse 
officers were appointed from England to enforce these 
laws, and the Americans could only evade them by smug- 
gling. 

There were many other grounds of dispute between 
the Government in England and the people in America. 
The Americans objected to the sending of English con- 
victs to the colonies. They also tried to make laws to 
keep the English slave-trading company from sending 
any more slaves to America, but all such laws were re- 



102 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

pealed in England, because men in higli office, members 
of the royal family, and at least two kings of England — 
Charles II and James II — owned shares in the Eoyal 
African Company, which had the exclusive right to fur- 
nish negroes to the colonies. 

Probably the people of America would have done noth- 
ing for many years to come but grumble and quarrel 
with their governors, had not the British ministry gone a 
step further and determined to tax the colonies to pay 
part of the expense of the recent war with France. This 
was to be done by requiring the Americans to use stamped 
paper for all their bills, notes, leases, and other business 
papers, as well as for the printing of their newspapers. 
The colonists were to pay a high rate for the stamped 
paper, and every business document was to be illegal if 
not written on such paper. When the Stamp Act was 
passed, in 1765, Franklin is said to have written from 
England to a friend in America : " The sun of liberty is 
set ; you must light up the candles of industry and econo- 
my." His friend answered that he feared that " other 
lights would be the consequence." The Stamp Act caused 
a great deal of disgust among Americans. They thought 
that since they were not allowed to send members to rep- 
resent them in Parliament, that body had not the right 
to tax them. The English people had long preserved 
their liberties by holding the purse strings. The colo- 
nists saw that if by buying stamped paper they once ad- 
mitted that the English Government had the right to tax 
them without their consent, there might be no end to the 
burdens put upon them. 

Washington agreed with the more thoughtful and 



THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. 103 

patriotic men of his country in opposing the Stamp Act. 
He was present in the Virginia Assembly when Patrick 
Henry made his famous speech against this act, in which 
he said : " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his 
Cromwell, and George the Third — " 

" Treason ! treason ! " cried some of the other party. 

" May profit by their example," continued Henry. " If 
that be treason, make the most of it ! " 

The officers who were appointed in America to sell 
the stamped paper had their houses mobbed and their 
windows broken, while their effigies were carried about 
and torn to pieces by enraged crowds. In New Hamp- 
shire the people attended the funeral of Liberty, who 
was carried through the streets in a neat coffin and finally 
came to life on the brink of the grave amid rejoicing and 
ringing of bells. When a ship carrying stamped paper 
reached Philadelphia, flags were hoisted at half-mast and 
the bells of the city were rung muffled as for a death. 
There was never a bit of the stamped paper sold in all 
America. Men from nine of the colonies met in a con- 
gress in New York in 1765. This meeting is spoken of 
as " The Stamp Act Congress." The colonies had always 
been jealous of one another, and they were now for the 
first time drawn together by a common danger. Al- 
though there were almost no manufactures in America, 
merchants agreed not to import any English goods until 
the Stamp Act should be repealed. People resolved to 
eat no more lamb, in order that sheep might increase 
and furnish wool enough to make homespun garments. 
The English merchants were so much injured by this 
resolution of the Americans to buy no more of their 



104 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

goods that they added their petitions t(f those of the colo- 
nists, and the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766. 

There were great rejoicings in America when the 
Stamp Act was repealed, but Parliament still claimed the 
right to tax the colonies. Soldiers were quartered on the 
Americans as a means of awing the people, and the colo- 
nies were required to pay the expense of keeping them, 
which they refused to do. In 1767 small duties were 
put upon all glass, paper, paints, and tea brought to 
America. Though this was not a great tax, the people of 
the colonies, now thoroughly aroused, said that it was 
meant for an entering wedge. They again made an 
agreement not to import English goods. Washington 
ordered his agent in London to send him nothing which 
his countrymen had agreed not to import. About the 
same time he wrote to a friend that " no man should 
scruple or hesitate a moment to use a — ms (arms) in de- 
fense " of freedom — which shows that he foresaw that 
there was likely to be a war. 

Again there was distress in England because the peo- 
ple of America ceased to buy English goods. The Gov- 
ernment, unwilling to give up the point entirely, now 
took off the tax on everything except tea, and arranged it 
so that the Americans after paying the tax on this article 
should still have their tea cheaper than usual. But the 
American people saw that what the English Government 
wished was to establish the right to tax them, and they re- 
solved to drink no tea, although they had been great tea 
drinkers. They used instead drinks made of sassafras, sage, 
and various other herbs. Americans were so earnest in this 
matter that some refused to use the forbidden tea, even 



THE BEGINNING OP THE REVOLUTION. 105 

when it had been, as they said, "honestly smuggled." 
The English Government sent ships loaded with tea to 
some of the larger ports, for it was thought that once the 
tea had reached America it would be used. But the tea 
ships which came to New York and Philadelphia were 
sent back ; in Charleston the tea was stored away in damp 
cellars and allowed to spoil ; at Annapolis— though this was 
a year later— a tea ship was burned. The resistance which 
made the most excitement was that of the people at Bos- 
ton, where fifty men disguised themselves as Indians, board- 
ed the ships, and emptied the contents of the chests into 
the water. Those who tried to fill their pockets with the 
tea which had been spilled on deck were ducked, and men 
went around in small boats and beat the tea which was 
floating about the harbor with their oars, so that all of it 
should be wasted. 

This first forcible resistance was called the Boston Tea 
Party, and that city was punished by having her port 
closed so that no ships might come or go. Business in 
Boston was almost entirely stopped, and many poor peo- 
ple were thrown out of work. In Virginia, the Assem- 
bly in which AYashington sat called this act of the Gov- 
ernment " a hostile invasion," and appointed the 24th of 
May, 1774, as a fast day. The Governor of Virginia dis- 
solved the Assembly as a punishment for this action, but 
the members merely removed to the Raleigh Tavern, 
where the House made itself a committee to advise that 
a general congress of the colonies should meet. Wash- 
ington records in his diary that he went to church on 
the 24th of May and fasted all day. He wrote to a friend 
that he wished that the dispute might have been left to 



106 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



posterity to settle, but that the colonists* must either now 
assert their rights or submit until " custom and use," as 
he said, " shall make us as tame and abject slaves as the 
blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway." 






II 




THE RALEIGH TAVERN. 

[From an old print.] 



CHOSEN COMMANDER IN CHIEF. 107 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CHOSEN COMMANDER IN CHIEF. 

r 177Jf-1775, 

•The English Government chose to quarrel only 
with New England in the first place, hoping to keep the 
colonies divided, and so to conquer easily those which 
were rebellious. The New Englanders remembered that 
they owed nothing to the mother country, and that their 
forefathers had been driven away from England by oppres- 
sion. They were a rather democratic people, most of them 
neither very rich nor very poor, but independent and in- 
telligent. They had been made hardy by hard work on a 
rocky soil, by a seafaring life, and by the struggle they 
had kept up for many years with Canada. The more 
patriotic men in the colonies sympathized with New Eng- 
land in her sufferings, and felt that she was fighting the 
cause of all Americans. 

On the last of August, 1774, Edmund Pendleton and 
Patrick Henry stopped at Mount Vernon and spent the 
night. They had come to make the journey to Phila- 
delphia with Washington. They were all going to join 
the Continental Congress as delegates from Virginia. 
The two guests admired the spirit which Mrs. Washing- 
ton displayed. Pendleton said that " the dear little 
woman was busy from morning till night," and that she 



108 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

"seemed ready to make any sacrifice, 5ud was cheerful," 
though he knew that she " felt very anxious." 

" I hope you will all stand firm," she said ; " I know 
George will." 

When the gentlemen set forth on their journey in the 
morning, Mrs. Washington stood in the doorway at 
Mount Vernon, and said, in a cheerful voice : 

" God be with you, gentlemen.'' 

When a relative wrote to her, about this time, speak- 
ing of her husband's " folly " in joining the Congress, 
Mrs. Washington answered that she foresaw the " conse- 
quences — dark days, and darker nights " ; but she added : 
" My mind is made up, my heart is in the cause. George 
is right; he is always right." 

Late in October Congress adjourned, and Washington 
returned home. About this time Patrick Henry was 
asked who was the greatest man in Congress. 

'^ If you speak of eloquence," he answered, " Mr. Rut- 
ledge, of South Carolina, is by far the greatest orator ; 
but if you speak of solid information and sound judg- 
ment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest 
man on that floor." 

Washington spent the winter and part of the spring at 
home. A number of the Virginia militia companies 
chose him as their field officer. He probably did not ex- 
pect anything more at this time than to command the 
Virginia forces in case of a war. He declared that he 
meant to devote his life and fortune to the cause, if 
necessary. 

Though an English army was quartered in Boston, 
under the command of General Gage, an officer who had 



CHOSEN COMMANDER IN CHIEF. 109 

been present, like Washington, at Braddock's defeat, the 
Americans still contented themselves with sending peti- 
tions to the Government in England, while they were 
training the militia and laying up ammunition and arms 
against the time of need. One of the places where they 
had some military stores was at Concord, about twenty 
miles from Boston. At midnight, on the 19th of April, 
1775, General Gage sent a body of men out of Boston to 
destroy these stores. The English soldiers were opposed 
at Lexington common by a small body of " minutemen," 
as the militia were called. The English officer shouted, 
" Disperse, you rebels I " but the rebels did not disperse 
until they had been fired upon and eight of their number 
killed. The English soldiers then marched on to Concord, 
where they destroyed some empty gun carriages, spiked 
the only two cannon the Concord men had not carried off, 
threw a store of rifle balls into the mill pond, and knocked 
to pieces a number of barrels of flour. Meantime the 
death of the men at Lexington had enraged the people, 
and the delay at Concord gave the minutemen time to 
assemble. On their return march the English soldiers 
were fired upon from every tree, rock, and stone wall 
along the road. The Americans were skillful hunters 
and took good aim. The English retreat soon became a 
run. Re-enforcements were sent out from Boston, and 
these fresh men formed a hollow square to keep the min- 
utemen at bay. The retreating and exhausted soldiers 
lay down in the midst of this square, " their tongues 
hanging out of their mouths like dogs after a chase." 
But they had not long to rest. The Americans pressed 
them hard, and they hurried back to Boston, pursued by 



110 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

the minutemen, until they came under protection of the 
guns of the English ships. That very night an irregular 
American army sat down before Boston. The war had 
begun. 

Congress was called to meet again, and May found 
Washington in Philadelphia once more. This time he 
came dressed in his colonel's uniform. There was a great 
deal of military enthusiasm now. " Oh, that I were a sol- 
dier ! " exclaimed the lawyer John Adams, and he took 
to reading military books. Some of the Philadelphia 
Quakers even armed themselves and began to parade, to 
the great amusement of onlookers. 

The common danger forced the members of Congress 
from the different colonies to learn some forbearance to- 
ward each other. The industrious New Englander had 
been used to think of the " barons of Virginia " as men 
who had nothing in common with him, while the planter 
had had his doubts whether the Northern people were not, 
after all, violent men who wished to start an independent 
country. But Washington was pleased to find that the 
New Englanders were " plain, downright, practical men, 
seeking safety from oppression " ; while Joseph Reed, of 
Pennsylvania, impressed with the resolution of the South- 
ern men, wrote : " There are some very fine fellows come 
from Virginia, but they are very high ; the Bostonians 
are mere milksops to them." 

It was necessary for Congress to prepare for war as 
quickly as possible. The first step was to adopt the vol- 
unteers, who lay before Boston, as a continental army. 
Officers must then be appointed. As there was still a 
good deal of jealousy in the colonies of the " haughty 



CHOSEN COMMANDER IN CHIEF. m 

airs " of New England, and people were apt to think that 
she wished to lead in everything, the men from these colo- 
nies thought it wise to select their commander in chief 
from some other region. For this reason, and because he 
was almost the only native American of military experi- 
ence. Colonel Washington was talked of for the difficult 
position. There were, it is true, two English officers, 
Gates and Lee, men who were living in Virginia and had 
often visited Mount Vernon during the last years and 
talked over the prospects of war, but the members of 
Congress thought it wise to place an American at their 
head. Most of the Southern delegates were in favor of 
Washington, but sorne were cool, and Pendleton was op- 
posed to him. There was a division also among the New 
England men. Finally, John Adams rose and moved 
that Congress should adopt the army before Boston and 
appoint a general. He said that there was but one gen- 
tleman in his mind " for that important command, and 
that was a gentleman from Virginia," who was among 
them, " a gentleman whose skill and experience as an offi- 
cer, whose independent fortune, great talents, and excel- 
lent universal character would command the approbation 
of all America, and unite the cordial exertions of all the 
colonies better than any other person in the Union." 
When Washington saw that the allusion was to himself, 
he, with his " usual modesty, darted into the library room," 
the door of which stood near at hand. 

There were some objections to Adams's motion, but 
the members were all finally persuaded to withdraw them, 
and Washington was elected commander in chief of the 
new continental army. " I can now inform you," wrote 



112 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Adams to his wife on tlie 17th of Jun^, 1775, "that the 
Congress have made choice of the modest and virtuous, 
the amiable, generous, and brave George Washington, 
Esquire, to be General of the American Army." When 
Washington was informed of his appointment, he rose in 
his place and said that he felt that a " high honor " had 
been done him, but that he was under great distress lest 
his " abilities and military experience " might not be 
" equal to the trust," and " lest some unlucky event should 
happen unfavorable to" his "reputation." He begged it 
should " be remembered by every gentleman in the room 
that" he did not think himself "equal to the command." 
He ended by saying that, as money could not have persuaded 
him to leave his home, he did not wish to make any profit 
from his services, and would accept nothing more than his 
expenses. Washington was sincere in his fears about his 
own fitness for the difficult command. " This day," said 
he, " will be the commencement of the decline of my 
reputation." 

He wrote immediately to his wdfe to tell her of his 
appointment — news which he knew would give her uneasi- 
ness. " You may believe me, my dear Patsy," said he, 
" when I assure you in the most solemn manner, that, so 
far from seeking this appointment, I have used every en- 
deavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwill- 
ingness to part with you and the family, but from a con- 
sciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity, 
and that I should enjoy more happiness in one month with 
you at home" than I have the most distant prospect of 
finding abroad." 

Washino^ton's anxietv for his wife was orpeat, and he 



CHOSEN COMMANDER IN CHIEF. 113 

was tormented with thoughts of her loneliness and uneasi- 
ness. He wrote to his stepson, and desired that he and 
Nelly would stay at Mount Vernon with their mother. 
He wrote also to his wife's relatives and friends, asking 
them to visit her and keep up her spirits. " My depart- 
ure," said he, " will, I know, be a cutting stroke upon 
her ; and on this account alone I have many very dis- 
agreeable sensations." He had good cause to be uneasy. 
The leaders of the Revolution knew very well that they 
were regarded only as rebels in England, and that they 
must expect to be hanged should they fail. " I have 
now," said Washington, " embarked on a tempestuous 
ocean, from whence, perhaps, no friendly harbor is to be 
found." 



114 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

BEFORE BOSTON. 

1775. 

About the time that Washington was made command- 
er in chief at Philadelphia, the battle of Bunker's Hill 
took place before Boston. About fifteen hundred Ameri- 
cans, under an officer named Prescott, undertook to oc- 
cupy this hill, because it overlooked the city and threat- 
ened the English army. They marched to the spot with 
spades and pickaxes on the night of June 17, 1775, and 
began throwing up intrenchments on Breed's Hill, which 
stood a little nearer Boston than Bunker's Hill. The 
Americans worked so hard that by daylight they had 
thrown up a redoubt. When morning came the English 
cannons began to play upon them, but Prescott coolly 
walked the top of the earthworks to encourage his men, 
and they began work once more, throwing up a rude outer 
breastwork around the hill, made of the new-mown hay, 
which lay on the ground, heaped between fence rails. As 
General Gage could not have occupied Boston once the 
Americans had succeeded in planting cannon on Breed's 
Hill, he sent about two thousand men, the pick of his army, 
to dislodge them. The British troops came over in boats. 
They burned Charlestown, a village of about five hundred 
houses, so that the Americans might have no cover from 



BEFORE BOSTON. 115 

which to attack them. The blazes ran up to the top of 
the church steeple, making a pyramid of fire. The Eng- 
lish soldiers now moved slowly and steadily up the hill. 
The Americans behind their hay breastworks reserved 
their fire until the enemy was very near, when they took a 
deadly aim. The British troops fell back, but their offi- 
cers pushed them on with their swords. Again the 
American farmers reserved their fire until the last mo- 
ment, and again they mowed down the enemy and drove 




THE BURNING OF CHARLESTOWN. 



[From a sketch made at the time by a British officer, viewing it from 
Beacon Hill.l 



them back. Once more the English officers pushed their 
men on. This time the Americans were almost out of 
powder, and the English cannon raked their breastworks 
of hay so that their fire was not so brisk, and they re- 
treated before the enemy to their earthworks. When the 
British soldiers poured over this redoubt, the Americans 
clubbed them with the butt ends of their muskets, and did 
not retreat until their works were half full of the enemy. 
The English losses were more than twice as great as the 
American in this battle. Though the Americans were 
10 



11(3 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

defeated, the way in which they had fought gave their 
countrymen heart, and taught the English to respect 
them. AVashington said, after he reached the camp, that 
a few more such victories would put an end to the Eng- 
lish army and the war. 

The new commander in chief heard of the battle of 
Bunker's Hill on his way to Boston. Honors were done 
him on his journey, but at New York, where there was 
still a great deal of indecision, he had to divide his hon- 
ors with the royal governor, Tryon, who arrived shortly 
after he did, and it was suspected that the same crowd 
shouted for them both. There was danger that the 
American general would be kidnaped in this city by 
royalists, and Washington was told to cross at the upper 
ferry for fear of such an attempt. Before Boston, he 
was received with all the honors that could be done him 
without the use of powder, for powder was scarce, and 
must be saved for the benefit of the enemy. With Wash- 
ington arrived two Englishmen who had also been made 
generals by Congress — Lee and Gates. Like Washington, 
they had been young officers at Braddock's disastrous 
battle. Lee had just bought land in Virginia, so that the 
Americans might be more likely to put him in a place of 
trust. They both, doubtless, secretly thought them- 
selves more fit for the chief command than the Virginia 
planter who had been placed over them. 

Washington found the American army posted on the 
hills around Boston. There were about sixteen thousand 
men, of whom fourteen thousand five hundred, were well, 
and fit for service. They were all New Englanders, 
though later in the summer they were joined by some 



BEFORE BOSTON. HY 

rifle companies from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Vir- 
ginia, bodies of men which had been raised and marched, 
some of them, over seven hundred miles in about two 
months. As the men before Boston were posted in a large 
semicircle, and might be attacked and routed at any point 
before the rest of the army could come to the rescue, 
Washington thought the force far too small. However, he 
set about forming the undisciplined crowd into an army, 
and a hard task it was. Sometimes he almost lost all 
patience with New Englanders. Before he had come to 
Boston he had admired, as others did from a distance, the 
courage and spirit of these men ; but when he came to try 
to make them into a disciplined army, he found that the 
officers were far too familiar with the men for good disci- 
pline, while the men were too independent to make obe- 
dient soldiers. The officers had been elected by their 
men, belonged to the same town, and thought they must 
" shake every man by the hand, and desire, beg, and pray, 
' Do, brother,' ' Do, my friend,' do such a thing," when, as 
it was said, a good hearty oath from one who cared nothing 
for their friendship would have been more to the purpose. 
With his Virginia ideas, Washington was at first inclined 
to be a little disgusted with Northern democracy, the 
more so that it stood in his way in disciplining the army. 
" However," he said more cheerfully after a time, " we 
mend every day, and I flatter myself that in a little time 
we shall make up these raw materials into a very good 
manufacture." He afterward came to think very highly 
of the spirit and behavior of New England men, though 
he said that it took some time to " bring people of their 
temper and genius into such a subordinate way of think- 



118 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

ing as was necessary for a soldier." He tried hard to 
give his motley army a soldierlike appearance. He en- 
deavored to get the officers to wear uniforms, or at least a 
colored ribbon, which should distinguish them from the 
men. He attempted to get hunting shirts made of tow 
for the common soldiers, as this was the cheapest way in 
which to make the men look somewhat alike. Never was 
a great general so cramped for money, for Congress could 
not get any except by making paper money. It dared 
not tax the people, an opposition to taxes being the cause 
of the war. 

One of \Yashington's first cares was to have the in- 
treuchments made stronger, so that his men might be 
protected in case they were attacked. " The Americans," 
said General Putnam, " are never afraid of their heads ; 
they only think of their legs ; shelter them, and they'll 
fight forever." Washington kept the men digging even 
upon Sundays. He also caused a certain place to be 
agreed upon for a rendezvous, in case the army should be 
defeated. He was very cautious, and he felt that he 
would be doing the wisest thing for the country if he 
held the enemy hemmed up in the city of Boston, kept 
them from getting provisions from the surrounding coun- 
try, and prevented them from marching out " with fire 
and sword." He caused some vessels to be fitted out, 
which cruised along the coast and often captured the 
food and stores sent from England at great expense for 
the army in Boston. Sometimes these vessels were taken 
at the very entrance to Boston harbor, when the wind was 
such that the English ships of war could not sail out to 
defend them. Some vessels of the English navy, however. 



BEFORE BOSTON. 119 

sailed to the town of Falmouth (now Portland), in Maine, 
and, after giving the people only a few hours to get out 
of their houses, burned the town. This act, as well as the 
burning of Charlestown, angered the Americans very 
much, and served to make them more bitter in their re- 
sistance to the mother country. 

During the war Washington often had trouble in 
overcoming the jealousy of men who came from different 
colonies. His headquarters, when he lay before Boston, 
were in Cambridge. One day some A^irginia riflemen in 
fringed hunting shirts were hooted at by a body of Mar- 
blehead men who wore the round jackets and trousers of 
fishermen and sailors. The Virginians retorted, and the 
two parties fell to snowballing each other, and then to 
fighting. There was great uproar in the streets of the 
beautiful little town. The son of an American lieutenant, 
a boy of ten, who saw the affray, told, many years after, 
how Washington and his black servant suddenly appeared 
on the scene. The general instantly threw his bridle to 
Billy, dismounted, rushed into the midst of the fighting 
men, seized a Virginian by the throat with one hand and 
a New Englander with the other, shook them soundly, 
and poured forth a torrent of angry words. In three 
minutes the fighters slunk away, and no one was left in the 
street but the commander in chief and the two men he 
had collared. 

Washington was borne down by heavy cares, and he 
was naturally grave and anxious most of the time, so that 
it has become a common belief that he never smiled dur- 
ing the war. There are two stories, however, of his life 
before Boston which show that he could laugh as heartily 



120 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

as any man. A certain Dr. Church, who was supposed to 
be a great patriot and was surgeon-general of the army, 
was discovered to be holding a secret correspondence with 
the enemy. It was thought necessary to capture a wom- 
an who carried his letters. Rough and honest old Gen- 
eral Putnam happened upon the messenger one day, and 
secured her by mounting her on the horse behind him. He 
brought the w^oman, who was very stout, into Cambridge 
in this fashion. When he saw them approaching, Wash- 
ington is said to have burst out laughing. It was with 
difficulty that he could control himself enough to address 
the woman seriously when she Avas brought before him, 
in order to threaten her with hanging unless she told 
all she knew. 

Another story of this time tells how the alarm was 
once given in Cambridge that the enemy was ap23roach- 
ing. There was a great bustle of preparation, and amid 
all the confusion General Greene stood at the bottom of 
the stairs " bawling to the barber for his wig," 

" Bring my wig, you rascal — bring my Avig ! " he 
shouted. 

" Your wig is behind the looking-glass, sir," said Gen- 
eral Lee. 

Turning toward the looking-glass, Greene saw that 
his wig was on his head. Washington meantime is said 
to have thrown himself on a sofa and laughed heartily at 
the expense of the excited general. 



LITTLE POWDER AND FEW MEN. 121 



CHAPTER XX. 

LITTLE POWDER AND FEW MEN. 

1775-1776. 

Washington was beginning to feel that he was in a 
good state of defense, when it was suddenly discovered 
that there had been a mistake about the amount of pow- 
der belonging to the army. It was found that there 
were in the storehouse only thirty-five half barrels of 
powder, or nine rounds to a man. When the general 
heard this bad news he did not say a word for half an 
hour. Without powder no amount of courage could pre- 
vent the army from being beaten in case of an attack. 
Washington made every effort to get more powder. He 
begged Congress and the different States to send him 
what they could. " No quantity," he wrote, " however 
small, is beneath notice." 

" The word powder," said his secretary. Reed, " sets 
us all a-tiptoe." The Americans were, he said, like a 
man with only a little money in his pocket who would 
" do twenty mean things to prevent breaking in upon his 
little stock." They felt it very hard to be obliged to 
" bear with the rascals on Bunker's Hill," who frequently 
cannonaded their works, which lay opposite at Winter's 
Hill. They longed to give the enemy a few shots in re- 
turn, but Washington said that every ounce of powder 



122 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

must be saved, to be used only when " Ihe red-coat gentry 
please to step out of their intrenchments." Meantime it 
was all-important to keep the scarcity of powder a secret, 
lest it should come to be known by the enemy, and they 
should take advantage of it to attack the Americans. 

There was a young man of seventeen, named Elkanah 
Watson, who was at this time apprenticed to a Boston mer- 
chant whose name was Brown. He afterward told how Mr. 
Brown's ships brought in a ton and a half of powder, and 
how he was sent to take this powder to Cambridge, where 
the headquarters of the army were. W^ashington seemed 
to Elkanah Watson a very awful person, especially as 
he was reproving a militia colonel for some offense when 
the young man first saw him. The general sent a young 
officer with Watson to see that the powder was placed in 
the powder house. While it was being unloaded, Watson 
said to the officer : 

" Sir, I am happy to see so many barrels of powder 
here." 

" These barrels are filled with sand," whispered the 
young officer in his ear. 

Watson asked why that was. 

" To deceive the enemy," answered the officer, " should 
any spy chance to look in." 

From this story it is evident that it was impossible 
for Washington to keep his secret very well. Little by 
little the stock of powder was increased. Congress suc- 
ceeded in buying all the powder on the coast of Africa, 
even that in British forts, and seized a magazine of it in 
the island of Bermuda. John Adams urged his wife to 
try to make saltpeter at home, as this article was used in 



LITTLE POWDER AND FEW MEN. 123 

making powder, and Mrs. Adams promised to do so after 
" soap-making." Mills were presently bnilt for manufac- 
turing saltpeter and powder, but, in spite of all that could 
be done, for some time this very necessary article was 
scarce. There was, in fact, a great deal of waste, since 
the men were so poorly protected from rain that the 
powder with which they were supplied often became 
damp, and must be renewed. 

No sooner was Washington out of one difficulty than 
he was plunged into another. As winter approached the 
men were sadly in need of tents, and had to make the 
best of a lot of old sails from the seaport towns which 
were useless now that New England's commerce was de- 
stroyed. They were also, as Washington said, "almost 
naked for want of shirts, breeches, stockings, shoes, and 
other clothing." The commissary, too, complained that, 
with " twenty thousand gaping mouths opened full upon 
him, and nothing to stop them with," he must " depend 
upon being devoured himself." 

The summer and autumn of 1775 wore away, and 
Washington looked in vain for the enemy to "come 
boldly out " and give him battle. After he had got a tol- 
erable supply of powder he wished for an attack. He 
felt sure of his men behind intrenchments, for they were 
good marksmen and could fight in this way with much 
courage. But General Gage also felt sure of them, and 
preferred to stay in Boston. Washington was surprised 
to see that Gage was laying in coal, as though the Eng- 
lish meant to spend the winter in Boston. Presently, 
however. Gage was ordered home, and General Howe was 
left in command of the British army. The Americans 



124 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

busied themselves with capturing the coal ships from 
England, and long before the winter was out the English 
army was so destitute of fuel as to be obliged to pull 
down houses in Boston and burn the wood of which they 
were built. Food also became so scarce that there was 
barely enough even of salt meat for the army. English 
people felt that the condition of their army shut up with- 
in Boston was degrading. The officers meanwhile passed 
their time as best thev could. Once when they were 



.S^tS4._ ?';»«^#»^3!ik-^ 




VIEW OF BOSTON FROM A SKETCH MADE AT THE TIME, ALSO SHOWING 
NOOKS HILL ON THE RIGHT. 

amusing themselves by a play, written by young Major 
Andre, called The Blockade of Boston, at which Wash- 
ington figured on the stage as a country lout with a big 
wig and a long and rusty sword, a sergeant hurried into 
the theater with the news that " the alarm guns were fir- 
ing at Charlestown and the Yankees attacking Bunker's 
Hill." The audience took this for part of the farce, 
until General Howe gave the order : 

" Officers, to your alarm posts." 

The Blockade of Boston ended with a hurried scram- 
ble for the door and the screaming and fainting of ladies. 



LITTLE POWDER AND FEW MEN. 125 

A body of Americans meantime had crossed over on a 
milldam to the foot of Bunker's Hill, set fire to an Eng- 
lish guardhouse, made some prisoners, and returned in 
safety, while the cannon roared behind them and spoiled 
the English farce in the city. An English paper, dis- 
gusted with the inactivity of the British army in Boston, 
reported that the officers were carrying on a theatrical 
campaign, and that the Americans were preparing to play 
Measure for Measure in the S2)ring. The English, in- 
deed, amused themselves by keeping up a pretty constant 
cannonade on the nearest American works, but this only 
served to inure the provincial soldiers to the sound of fire- 
arms. 

Washington had promised his wife, when he wrote to 
her after his appointment, that he would see her in the 
fail, but he found it impossible to leave the army, and he 
sent for her. She made the long journey in her coach to 
Boston, accompanied by her son and his wife. She was 
received with honor at Philadelphia and other places. 
About this time the Americans captured an English ship, 
from the West Indies, loaded with limes, lemons, oranges, 
sweetmeats, and pickles. Washington bought some of 
these good things meant for British officers, because he 
was expecting "his lady." Mrs. Washington reached 
Cambridge on the 11th of December. 

With the winter came fresh trouble. Most of the men 
had enlisted only till December, and Washington must 
dissolve his army and form a new ohc in face of the 
enemy. It was very hard to get recruits, for men could 
make more money by staying at home, and already the 
first eagerness and excitement was gone. The Connecti- 



126 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

cut men were determined to go off in a body, and when 
they finally went, after staying ten days over their time 
at Washington's request, the other regiments " hissed, 
groaned, and pelted " them. Those of the old men who 
re-enlisted must be given furloughs, and this left the army 
very weak. Washington was sure that the English must 
know of his small numbers, for he heard that it was com- 
mon talk in Boston. The beginning of the new year 
found him with an army of only a little over nine thou- 
sand men, one thousand of whom were absent on fur- 
loughs. Powder was scarce, and so were arms. W^ash- 
ington had bought from the retiring men all the guns 
that were of any value, and still there were not enough 
for his small army. 

" I wish this month were well over our heads," he 
wrote in January. He was, in fact, so harassed and dis- 
heartened that he said that if he had known what would 
have happened nothing could have persuaded him to 
take the command of the army. He would have been ten 
times more comfortable as a colonel, and he was sure that 
he would have gained more honor. He did not believe 
that it had ever happened before that a post was held 
within musket shot of twenty British regiments for six 
months without powder while one army was dismissed 
and another raised. W^ashington declared that, if he 
succeeded, it would be " the most fortunate event of his 
life." 



DRIVING THE ENEMY OUT. 127 



CHAPTER XXL 

DRIVING THE ENEMY OUT. 

1776. 

In- the months that he lay before Boston Washington 
longed eagerly to attack the enemy. He felt that some- 
thing was expected of him. Several times he had called 
a council of war, but his officers had always agreed that it 
would be unwise to attempt anything, either because of 
the want of powder, arms, and men, or for other good 
reasons. Washington had a plan for acting on the offen- 
sive, " when we have powder to sport with," as he said. 






VIEW OF THE BRITISH LINES OK BOSTON NECK. 

[From a sketch made at the time.] 

but that time did not come, and he was unable to de- 
stroy "the nest in Boston," as he wished so much to 
do. While he was forced to keep his difficulties a secret 
from his friends lest they should reach the ears of his 
enemies, he felt that he would be lucky if he were able 



126 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

" to keep above water, as it were, in the esteem of man- 
kind." 

One of Washington's many difficulties had been a 
lack of heavy cannon, such as were necessary for carry- 
ing on a siege. Early in the winter he sent Henry Knox, 
who afterward became his chief artillery officer, to Ticon- 
deroga, to procure heavy ordnance, lead, and flints. With 
a great deal of difficulty Knox transported the cannon in 
boats to the southern end of Lake George, loaded them 
upon more than fifty sledges, drawn by eighty yoke of 
oxen, and so carried them to the American camp before 
Boston, where they arrived late in the winter. 

Washington thought that when the waters around 
Boston should be frozen the English would certainly 
march out on the ice to attack him, if they did not do so 
before. But the battles of Lexington and Bunker's Hill 
had made them very cautious, and they did not care to 
face Yankees who had their legs protected. General 
Gage declared that the rebels were not the rabble many 
had supposed them to be. His successor. General Howe, 
said that the American army, made up, as it was, of 
young men of spirit, was not to be despised, and he pro- 
ceeded to show how little he despised it by staying securely 
in Boston. If the enemy would not make use of the 
ice, Washington was determined to use it himself. It 
would be more possible to enter Boston in this way than 
to try to force the narrow neck of land which connected 
the town with the mainland, and which was very strongly 
fortified by the English. But the winter was warm, and 
the water did not freeze over until the middle of Feb- 
ruary. As soon as the ice was strong enough to hold 



DRIVING THE ENEMY OUT. 129 

men, Washington called a council of war to advise with 
him about attacking the city ; but his officers thought it 
too dangerous an undertaking. In fact, the American 
generals were very uncertain how their undisciplined men 
would behave when they were the attacking force, and 
their legs totally unprotected. One severe defeat would 
have ruined the American cause, while the colonies 
gained much by keeping their foe in a disgraceful con- 
finement within the narrow limits of the little town of 
Boston. But Washington was disappointed. He felt 
that he was expected to act. He said that perhaps his 
officers were right, but his situation had become so irk- 
some that he would have made the attempt. He fell 
back, however, upon a more cautious course. The Ameri- 
cans were to take possession of Dorchester Heights, which 
overlooked the town much as Bunker's and Breed's Hills 
did. As the English could not hold Boston with batter- 
ies commanding the town, it was thought that they would 
be forced to attack the men on Dorchester Heights, who 
behind breastworks would fight manfully. When the 
enemy should have divided their forces for this purpose, 
Washington meant to take the opportunity to march 
upon them in Boston with another division of his army. 
He had his plans all carefully laid, and ordered in the 
militia from the country around to man his lines while 
his forces were drawn off. 

Two nights before the time he had set for taking 
Dorchester Heights Washington began to bombard Bos- 
ton from other points, in order to confuse and deceive the 
enemy about his plans. The people who lived near the 
city were terrified to hear the roar of cannon. Windows 



130 



THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 



rattled and houses shook, while no ome knew what it all 
meant. During the day it was perfectly quiet, except for 
the marching of the militia going into camp with three 
days' provisions, but when night came the terrible uproar 
began again, the American guns firing upon the city and 




MAP OF BOSTON, SHOWING THE FORTIFICATIONS OF THE AMERICANS. 

the English cannon answering. On the third night, which 
was the 4th of March, when the cannonade had once 
more opened, over three hundred wagons began moving 
toward Dorchester Heights, loaded with baled hay and 
bundles of poles, called fascines. The bales of hay and 
fascines were to be used in making a breastwork for the 



DKIVma THE ENEMY OUT. ^1^3;!^ 

men to fight behind, for the ground was frozen too hard 
to be dug up for earthworks. The moon shone brightly, 
but the English army was too much occui^ied with the 
cannonade, which now and then burned a house or killed 
a few men, to observe this movement of the Americans. 
Four thousand men worked all night on Dorchester 
Heights, while most of the three hundred teams carried 
three loads each. By morning, two forts, a long breast- 
work, and some barracks had sprung up. 

"My God!" exclaimed General Howe in Boston, 
" these fellows have done more work in one night than I 
could make my army do in three months ! " 

Some of the English officers afterward admitted that 
the sudden way in which these redoubts had sprung up 
in the night made them think of the works of enchant- 
ment in an Eastern romance. But something must be 
done immediately. The new works would soon command 
the town and most of the harbor and the beach where 
the men must embark in case of a retreat. The English 
admiral sent word to General Howe that Dorchester 
Heights must be taken or the fleet could not stay in 
Boston harbor. So three thousand soldiers were hastily 
ordered on board transports for this purpose. The men 
said to each other that it would be another Bunker's Hill. 
The transport ships fell down to the Castle, which stood 
on a small island not far from Dorchester Heights. The 
Americans were expecting an attack. They had placed a 
number of barrels filled with sand and stones in front of 
their breastworks. They meant to roll these heavy bar- 
rels down the hill when the enemy should advance, so 
breaking the ranks and maiming the legs of the English 
11 



132 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

soldiers. Washington made a speech to the men, in which 
he reminded them that it was the 5th of March, the anni- 
versary of the Boston Massacre, as it was called, when, 
before the war, the British soldiers quartered in Boston 
had fired upon the townsi^eople who were j^elting them 
with snowballs in which were stones. The Americans 
were in high spirits. Washington felt very sure that 
they would defeat the enemy. Meanwhile General Put- 
nam and four thousand men stood ready to enter Boston 
by crossing the ice behind the towai at the same time that 
the attack was made on Dorchester Heights. But when 
the English troops were about to cross over from the Cas- 
tle to the assault there came up a violent storm. By the 
next day the Americans had made their works so strong, 
that the English officers did not care to face the thou- 
sands of good marksmen behind them. 

Washington continued to push his fortifications out on 
the Dorchester peninsula. The next important step w^as 
to take possession of Nook's Hill. He sent some men up 
to mark out the ground on the crest of the hill. The 
English ships immediately began to cannonade the hill- 
top, which w^as exactly what the Americans wished. The 
night that followed was dark and foggy, and they began 
their w^orks farther down the slope, while the cannon 
balls went completely over their heads. The next morn- 
ing the English abandoned Bunker's Hill. The fleet was 
loading up as hastily as possible. The harbor was so cov- 
ered with masts that it looked like a "forest." General 
Howe sent the selectmen of Boston to Washington with a 
proposal to leave the towni unharmed if he would not can- 
nonade the English army while it was embarking. Wash- 



DRIVING THE ENEMY OUT. I33 

ington made no promises, but he was willing to spare 
Boston from destruction, and he always avoided unneces- 
sary bloodshed. 

The Englishmen were deeply mortified that they were 
forced to abandon Boston by a body of American farm- 
ers, whom they had always despised. It was the worst 
season of the year to go to sea, but go they must, bur- 
dened with some fifteen hundred loyalists and their house- 
hold goods, for these people dared not stay behind and 
face their angry neighbors. Hasty efforts were made to 
spike the cannon on Bunker's Hill and at Boston Neck, 
while some mortars were thrown into the water, but the 
Americans soon after recovered these and restored the 
cannons to usefulness. The enemy finally left Boston on 
the 17th of March. Washington immediately sent Gren- 
eral Putnam to take possession of the city with two thou- 
sand men, selected because they had had the smallpox, 
for Boston was infected with this disease. He had 
already hurried off some of his men to New York, for he 
thought that the enemy would sail to that city next. The 
English blew up the Castle, but they remained for some 
time in Nantasket Roads. Washington declared that the 
enemy had " the best knack at puzzling people " he had 
" ever met with." Old seamen told him, however, that 
they were waiting to get ready for sea — which was true, 
for they all presently sailed away and left Washington 
free to hasten to New York with his army. 

The evacuation of Boston caused deep disgust in 
Enghmd, and gave much pleasure in America. Wash- 
ington, who never prided himself much on a success, 
expected that the people, who could not know his diffi- 



134 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

culties, would blame him for not having driven the 
enemy out sooner. The Massachusetts Legislature, how- 
ever, made him an address of thanks, and Congress 
presented him with a gold medal. He modestly said 
that he was happy to find that his reputation stood 
fair. 



WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK. 135 



CHAPTER XXII. 

WASHINGTOI^ AT NEW YORK. 

1776. 

Washi:n"Gtoi^" made the journey to New York, accom- 
panied by Mrs. Washington, her son, who was the gen- 
eral's aid-de-camp, and his wife, or Jack and Nelly, as 
they were called in the family. The army traveled in 
various divisions, which were carried as far as possible on 
the waters of the sound, so that the men might not be 
worn out with marching when they reached New York. 
At Providence Washington overtook a body of soldiers 
who had marched ahead, under the command of General 
Greene. Their general ordered all the men who could 
boast of uniforms to turn out in honor of the commander 
in chief, having first washed their faces and hands, shaved 
their beards, and powdered their hair. 

The general and his family were in New York by the 
13th of April, 1776. Washington had already sent General 
Lee to this town in the month of January, when the Eng- 
lish general, Clinton, had left Boston with a small British 
force, and he feared the English meant to make a lodg- 
ment in New York. Lee had begun to fortify both 
Brooklyn and New York. The city at that time all lay 
below Grand Street. Fortifications were now made all 
around the end of the island, and the streets leading to 



136 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

the water were barricaded. Some of the barricades were 
made of mahogany logs which were taken from West In- 
dia ships. In Brooklyn, besides a fort on the Heights, a 
line of works was thrown across the narrowest place be- 
hind this village, between Wallabout Swamp and Gowanns 
Bay. There were one hundred and twenty-one cannons 
in and about New York, thirty-three of which were kept 
ready to run to any place where the enemy might make 
their most serious attack. During the spring and the 
heat of the summer the men dug and dug, expecting 
every day that the enemy would appear and that they 
would have to fight from behind their unfinished works. 
They worked so hard and wore out clothing so fast that it 
was impossible to keep them in respectable dress, and a 
double allowance of soap was needed for w^ashing hands 
and faces. 

While Washington was before Boston, and while he was 
busy in superintending all that was going on about New 
York, he had the affairs of the American army in Canada 
upon his shoulders also, although he was too far away to 
do more than send general directions and forward men 
and supplies. During the past winter Montgomery had 
penetrated into Canada by way of Lake Chamj^lain, taken 
St. Johns and Montreal, and marched upon Quebec. Wash- 
ington had sent Benedict Arnold with eleven hundred 
men up the Kennebec Eiver to meet him before the city. 
The attack on Quebec had failed, however, and Washing- 
ton said that this proved what he had susjjected for some 
time — which was, that the American soldiers, j^laced be- 
hind a breastwork, stone wall, or any other kind of shel- 
ter, would, "from their knowledge of a firelock, give a 



WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK. 137 

good account of the enemy," but that they ^vvoulcl not 
"march boldly up to a work nor stand exposed in a 
plain." A small force of Americans had blockaded Que- 
bec all winter, but when the ice in the St. Lawrence 
Eiver melted in the spring, so that English troops could 
sail in, they were obliged gradually to fall back. Weak- 
ened by the smallpox and defeated in a battle at Three 
Elvers, they finally retreated through Lake Champlain. 
Washington was meanwhile doing all he could to help the 
army in Canada, dividing his own forces until, as he said, 
there were not enough- men to attack the English in 
Canada, while there were not enough left to oppose them 
in New York. But he did the best he couJd, and ar- 
ranged signals to get in the militia of New Jersey and 
Connecticut in case of need. 

A young man who joined Washington's army at this 
time said it was an irregular mass of " badly disciplined, 
badly armed, and badly equipped men." He told how a 
body of men calling themselves the Connecticut Light- 
horse came and offered their services to Washington. They 
were elderly countrymen, mounted on queer old " jades " 
of horses. Some of them wore dingy regimentals of scar- 
let, and three-cornered hats trimmed with tarnished lace, 
relics of the last French war, and they all carried old fowl- 
ing pieces, many of which were very long. As Washington 
had no forage for their old horses, he thanked them and 
sent them home. One of these fellows, however, found 
his way to Long Island, and was afterward captured by 
the British. The English officers made him amble about 
for their amusement, and laughed heartily at his expense. 
When they asked him what his duties had been in " the 



138 "I'HE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

rebel army," he answered, " To flank' a little and carry 
tidings." There was still very little discipline or regard 
for appearances among the New England men. General 
Putnam rode around in summer wearing a waistcoat 
without sleeves, and a hanger strapped across his shoul- 
ders. His nephew, who was chief engineer of the army, 
was once met by a friend carrying a piece of meat. 

" What ! " exclaimed the latter, " carrying home your 
rations yourself, colonel ? " 

" Yes," answered Colonel Putnam, " and I do it to set 
the officers a good example." 

Though Washington expected "a very bloody sum- 
mer," he had little time to discipline his men, for they 
were constantly employed in digging. But he charged 
them to stand to their duty when they were attacked, to 
load with balls and buckshot, and not to fire until the 
enemy was near. He tried to uniform his soldiers as far 
as possible in hunting shirts and what he sometimes 
called long breeches, " made gaiter fashion about the 
legs," and sometimes overalls. They were, in fact, a kind 
of long trousers, which were a novelty in those days, and 
they served to cover the lack of stockings, too common in 
the American army. Washington liked this costume be- 
cause he thought it terrified the British, who imagined 
that a man in an Indian or backwoods dress must be a 
good shot. Morgan, who commanded a company of sharp- 
shooters during the war, dressed his men in fringed hunt- 
ing shirts, wampum belts, leggings, and moccasins worked 
with beads and porcupine quills, to which he added also 
the knife and tomahawk of the savages. They marched 
in Indian file, and he told, after the war, how the very 



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Trimmed with cvhife jrin^e. "jfje qaitcrs 
bccjin just below t]je knee.THosroHfjem 
^0" barcjoof." German O^^ccr's ?7oi«6ook 




man. 
1776. 



A SOLDIER OF CONGRESS. 

[From a sketch made during the war by a German officer.] 



WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK. 139 

sight of his riflemen was enough for a Hessian picket. 
The Germans would scamper into their lines, crying out 
in all the English they knew : " Eebel in de bush ! rebel in 
de bush ! " There is also another tale which shows how 
the English feared this sort of a soldier. An American 
who was captured and taken on board an English ship 
was asked by the captain how many riflemen he would be 
likely to meet in sailing up the Potomac. 

" I don't mean your regulars," explained the English 
captain, " but those hunting-shirt fellows from the woods, 
who can hit any button on my coat when they are in the 
humor of sharpshooting." 

The American assured him that there were plenty of 
such men along the Potomac, although there was not in 
reality one within hundreds of miles, and the English 
captain thought best not to make his trip up the river. 

Washington's headquarters were at a house called 
Richmond Hill. Mrs. Washington was with him and 
thinking about " taking the smallpox," though the gen- 
eral said that he thought she would not have the resolu- 
tion. Taking the smallpox meant inoculation, which 
was the only way in those days of escaping this disease, to 
which she would be much exposed living in an army. 
The general went to Philadelphia in May to consult with 
Congress, and here Mrs. Washington was inoculated. She 
returned to New York again with her husband, and soon 
afterward a plot against the general's life was discov- 
ered. Tryon, the royal governor of New York, had re- 
tired to a ship of war. From his ship he planned a con- 
spiracy, in which many people living in and about New 
York were concerned. A man named Hickey, who be- 



140 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

longed to Washington's life guard, was one of the con- 
spirators. He was to assassinate Washington, and the other 
conspirators were to rise, spike the American cannons, and 
capture New York. Hickey decided to poison the com- 
mander in chief. He was on good terms with Washing- 
ton's housekeeper, who was the daughter of Sam Fraun- 
ces, a celebrated tavern-keeper. He went to this woman 
and agreed with her to put poison in a dish of green peas, 
of which they knew the general was very fond. Though 
the housekeeper pretended to agree with Hickey, she went 
to Washington and informed him of the plot against his 
life. The poisoned peas came to the table, but Washing- 
ton sent them away, and Hickey was soon afterward ar- 
rested, as well as many others concerned in the plot. 
Hickey was hanged, and Washington was careful after this 
to have none but native Americans in his life guard, for 
Hickey had been a British deserter. 

Meantime the Americans captured several vessels, on 
some of which were English soldiers, from whom it was 
learned that General Howe had sailed from Halifax, 
where he had landed after leaving Boston. With the 
enemy coming, Washington was anxious about his lack of 
men and arms. Some of the colonies might perhaps get 
their proportion of men raised before snowfall, he said, 
but not in time to relieve either New York or Canada. 
In the early part of June there w^ere less than eight thou- 
sand well-armed men in the army. Militiamen who had 
no arms were told to bring with them either shovels, 
spades, pickaxes or scythes straightened and fastened to 
poles. On the 26th of June some large ships were seen 
off Sandy Hook. One of them was the Greyhound, with 



WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK. 141 

General Howe on board. In a few days there were one 
hundred and thirty sails outside the harbor. Every- 
thing was now made ready for battle, and Mrs. Washing- 
ton was sent away. The English general was about to 
land his men on Long Island, when he found that the 
Americans were strongly posted there, and he chose 
Staten Island instead. This was a very anxious time for 
Washington, for he expected daily to be attacked at some 
point. But during July the enemy lay quiet on their 
island, and their fleet gradually grew to three hundred 
ships. 

On the 9th of July the American army was drawn up 
and heard the Declaration of Independence read for the 
first time. The soldiers gave many "loud huzzas." In 
the evening a number of them joined a crowd of " Lib- 
erty boys" gatJiered at Bowling Green, where stood a 
statue of George III made of solid lead and gilded. The 
crowd pulled down the statue, and it was drawn to Litch- 
field, Conn., where the women of the town melted it and 
molded it into bullets. 

Three days later two English ships of war, the Rose 
and the Phoenix, taking advantage of a brisk wind and a 
running tide, sailed past the American batteries on the 
North River, as the Hudson is called at New York. The 
ships kept near the Jersey shore, and their decks were 
protected by sand-bags, so that the American cannon did 
them no damage. The Rose and Phoenix returned the 
American fire, and their balls crashed through houses in 
New York. Women and children ran screaming about 
the town. The ships ran up to Tappan Zee, where 
the river is broad, and there anchored. By this means 



142 



THE STOEY OF WASHINGTON. 



tliey cut off Washington's water comjnunication with the 
north. The militia watched the shores and prevented the 
ships from landing men. The Americans also built some 
fire ships and tried to destroy the English vessels. They 
grappled with the Phoenix, but she got away, and one of 
her tenders only was burned. They towed the remains of 
the tender ashore the next day under the enemy's guns 
and saved some cannon from her. The Rose and Phoenix 
now sailed back down the Hudson, after having been up 
the river five weeks. They received several shots in their 
hulls from the American forts, but got off without serious 
damasfe. 





'^•■, I f' % ;i. f 'M--r-M 

I fit; 'I I 




mWMmm 



WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK ON FIRST ARRIVING. 



A QUESTION OF DIGNITY. 143 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

A QUESTION OF DIGNITY. 

1776. 

The admiral of the English fleet was Lord Howe, 
brother to General Howe, commander of the army. They 
were appointed commissioners by the English Govern- 
ment to treat with the American people and try to bring 
them to terms. AYashington sarcastically remarked that 
they were come to " dispense pardons to repenting sinners." 
On the 14th of July an English officer came up the har- 
bor in a boat, carrying a white flag. He was detained by 
some whaleboats which made a part of the only fleet 
Washington had. The American general consulted with 
his officers, and they agreed with him that he ought not to 
receive any paper which did not recognize him as a gen- 
eral. Colonel Reed, who was Washington's adjutant-gen- 
eral, went down the bay and met the English officer. 

" I have a letter from Lord Howe to Mr. AVashing- 
ton," said the officer, taking off his hat and bowing 
politely. 

" Sir," answered Reed, " we have no person in the 
army with that address." 

" But you will look at the address ? " asked the Eng- 
lishman, holding out a letter on which was written 
" George Washington, Esq." 



144 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

" I can not receive that letter," said Reed. 

" I am very sorry," said the English officer, " and so 
will be Lord Howe, that any error in the superscription 
should prevent the letter being received by General 
Washington." 

" Why, sir," answered Reed, " I must obey my orders." 

" Oh, yes, sir, you must obey orders, to be sure." 

The officers then exchanged some letters from prison- 
ers and parted. But the English boat put back again, and 
the officer asked by what title " General — Mr. Washing- 
ton wished to be addressed." 

" You are sensible, sir," answered Reed, " of the rank 
of General Washington in our army." 

" Yes, sir, we are," answered the English officer. " I 
am sure my Lord Howe will lament exceedingly this 
affair, as the letter is quite of a civil nature, and not of a 
military one. He laments exceedingly that he was not 
here a little sooner." It was supposed that the English 
officer meant by this that Lord Howe was sorry he had 
not arrived before the Declaration of Lidependence. 
,-, The English admiral next sent a letter addressed to 
" George Washington, Esq., &c., &c., &c." But this let- 
ter was also refused, and Lord Howe then sent Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Patterson to talk with Washington, who re- 
ceived him at Colonel Knox's headquarters. The Ameri- 
can general was very handsomely dressed and " made a 
most elegant appearance," for Washington was deter- 
mined that the English should respect him and his cause. 
Colon/^1 Patterson began to talk, taking great care to say 
" May it please your Excellency " as often as possible. 
He explained that the " &c., &c., &c." on the address of 



A QUESTION OF DIGNITY. I45 

Lord Howe's letter, which he had brought with him, 
" implied everything that ought to follow." He laid the 
letter on the table, but Washington refused to receive it, 
saying that a letter sent to a person in a public character 
ought to have something on it to show this. After some 
talk about the treatment of prisoners. Colonel Patterson 
then said that the benevolence of the king had caused 
him to make General and Lord Howe commissioners to 
settle the present unhappy disputes, and that they would 
be very much pleased to effect this. Washington an- 
swered that he had no authority in this case, but that it 
did not seem that Lord Howe could do anything but 
grant pardons, " and that those who had committed no 
faults wanted no pardons." Colonel Patterson refused to 
eat of a collation which was prepared, and he and Gen- 
eral Washington parted with much ceremonious politeness 
on both sides. 

Washington never failed during the war to insist on 
respectful treatment from the enemy. When General 
Gage, at Boston, had refused to distinguish American offi- 
cers taken prisoner from privates, saying that he did n'*t 
recognize a rank which did not come from the king, 
Washington replied that a rank which came from the 
" choice of a brave and free people " seemed to him the 
best of all ranks. Later in the war, when Sir Henry 
Clinton once sent a letter to the American general, ad- 
dressed to " Mr. Washington," the commander in chief 
took it from the officer bearing the flag of truce, and said : 

" This letter is directed to a planter of the State of 
Virginia. I shall have it delivered to him at the end 
of the war ; till that time it shall not be opened." 
12 



UQ THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 
1776. 

SiN^CE the first appearance of the English fleet Wash- 
ington had been daily looking for an attack. He remind- 
ed the men that " the fate of unknown millions " depend- 
ed upon their courage and good behavior. Though he 
did what he could to encourage them, he had his own 
doubts about succeeding in the defense of New York. In 
all the posts to be defended he had about twenty-eight 
thousand men by the latter part of the summer. But 
the season was hot and unhealthy, and something like 
nine thousand were ill, so that there were only about 
nineteen thousand who were able to fight, and many of 
these were militia or raw troops. The English army 
amounted to thirty- one thousand, of whom twenty-four 
thousand were effective. They were finely trained sol- 
diers, with the best of arms. While Washington must 
divide up his inferior forces to defend long lines at New 
York and Brooklyn and forts above on the Hudson, 
Howe could bring most of his to bear upon one spot, if 
he chose. The English also had an immense advantage 
in having a fleet to command the waters which nearly 
surrounded New York. Washington was so uncertain of 
success that he sent all his spare powder to General 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 147 

Schuyler, who commanded in northern New York, and 
nailed his papers up in a box, which he dispatched to 
Congress, but he kept these precautions secret lest his 
men should be disheartened. 

On the 21st of August the English were seen to be 
getting their troops on shipboard. It was plain that they 
meant to attack some part of the American lines. The 
next day the Phoenix, Greyhound, Eose, and Rainbow, 
having been placed so that they could defend the men 
from attack, a large body of troops was landed at Graves- 
end Bay, on Long Island. There ensued several anxious 
days. Washington spent a good deal of time in the 
Brooklyn works, making ready for battle. He brought 
over more men, until the American forces at this point 
amounted to seven thousand, and he put the works in 
command of General Putnam, who was familiarly known 
as "old Put." He ordered that the men should have 
two days' provisions of bread and pork always on hand, 
and his commands to the troops were, " Be cool and 
determined ; do not fire at a distance, but wait for orders 
from your officers." 

The English army lay in a plain. Between it and the 
American works was a ridge of hills, part of which still 
exists in Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery. These 
hills were rather steep on the side toward the British 
army, and were covered with woods and thickets. There 
were three roads which ran through them where there 
were depressions. The first of these was the Gowanus road, 
the second the road to Flatbush, and the third was the 
road through Bedford. Away olf to the left there was 
also a road leading to the village of Jamaica, which crossed 



148 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

the hills about four miles away from the Brooklyn lines. 
Along these hills the Americans posted their forces. 
They could not guard the whole distance perfectly, but as 
it was pretty certain that the English Avould come by 
way of the roads, they built barricades of trees across 
them and guarded them strongly. The Jamaica road, 
however, was so far aw^ay from the British army that it 
was patrolled by five men who were officers, officers being 
almost the only mounted men in the army. A body of 
troops under General Miles Avas stationed in the woods 
not far from this road, and he was ordered to keep his 
scouts out to watch it. Washington, Putnam, and Sulli- 
van rode out to the hills near Flatbush on the 2Gth of 
August, and viewed the enemy's encamj^ment through a 
field glass. In the evening Washington returned to New 
York, where it was necessary for him to keep a watchful 
eye for fear of an attack there. 

About the same time General Howe began to move 
his men silently forward under cover of the darkness, so 
that they might be ready for a battle the next day. He 
had about three times as many men as the Americans, 
and was pretty sure of succeeding. He divided his army 
into three columns. One was to march up the Gowanus 
road, the second was to march to the Flatbush pass, and 
the third and largest column, led by Howe himself, to- 
gether with Clinton and Cornwallis, was to march a long 
way around to the Jamaica pass, where the English knew 
they were not expected. The enemy struck the Ameri- 
can pickets on the Gowanus road about two o'clock in the 
morning and drove them in. When their pickets fell 
back the Americans marched out to meet the enemy. 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 



149 



whom they found already through the pass. Their gen- 
eral, Stirling, drew up his forces, placing part of them 
on the high hills where Greenwood Cemetery now is. 




-- Qmcricnn 5o)6)(;rs 
■f--i- IBrih's/} Soldiers 

MAP OF THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 

The British opened a heavy fire from their cannon and 
mortars. " The balls and shells flew fast, now and then 
taking off a head," but the Americans stood to their duty 



150 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

manfully. The English did not press them very closely, 
for they only wished to keep them engaged while Howe 
made his long secret march around to the Jamaica road. 
There was, however, some pretty hard fighting for the 
possession of the Greenwood hills, and the Americans 
kept them. 

At the Flatbush pass General Sullivan commanded 
the American forces. The Hessians here kept up some 
show of attacking, but this was all. Meantime General 
Howe, with ten thousand men, had been marchiug in the 
night from the village of Flatlands to the far-away 
Jamaica road, guided by three Tories. By coming across 
the fields this column got between the American forces 
and the five officers who were patrolling the road, about 
three o'clock in the morning, and made them all prison- 
ers. General Clinton questioned the American officers. 
He learned that no troops occupied the Jamaica pass, 
but when he tried to learn more, young Lieutenant Duns- 
comb, who was a graduate of Columbia College, declared 
that " under other circumstances " the English general 
would not dare to insult t^em by asking such questions. 
For this the young man got himself called "an impu- 
dent rebel," and was threatened with hanging. Duns- 
comb answered that " Washington would hang man for 
man," and that " as for himself, he should give Clinton 
no further information." 

At half past eight in the morning the British had got 
through the hills on the Jamaica road. General Miles 
had just moved through the woods out to this road, when 
he found that the English were on the full march down 
it. He thought of trying to cut his way through the 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 151 

enemy's columns and thus reach the Sound, but it was 
considered better to retreat. He was completely caught 
in the trap, and after running against the enemy several 
times in the woods, he and his men were taken prisoners. 
And now the Hessians marched up the Flatbush road 
to attack General Sullivan. This general soon heard the 
fire of the English in his rear, where they were chasing 
the flying Americans. The enemy was nearer the Brook- 
lyn lines than he was. He immediately began a retreat, 
and turned the same cannon against the English in his 
rear which had been firing upon the Hessians in front. 
The gunners stood to their duty " heroically " until 
they were all captured. The men fought hard, and 
many of them managed to break through the British 
lines in small parties and make their way to the Brook- 
lyn works. Quite a number were driven back by the 
English upon the advancing Hessians, who sometimes 
bayoneted the Americans when they resisted too long. 
Sullivan himself was taken prisoner by three Hessian 
grenadiers. 

General Stirling, on the Gowanus road, held his 
ground bravely until between eleven and twelve o'clock. 
He knew nothing of his danger until he heard firing in 
his rear. He then fell back, but found that Cornwallis, 
with a part of Howe's columns, had cut off his retreat on 
the Gowanus road. There was but one chance. Stirling 
took half of the Maryland battalion and attacked Corn- 
wallis, at the same time ordering the rest of his men to 
make their way as best they could across Gowanus marsh 
and creek. They succeeded in doing this, excepting a 
few who were shot or drowned in the attempt. Stirling 



152 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

and most of tlie brave men who covered their retreat were 
taken. 

During the early part of the morning Washington 
had been in New York watching the movements of the 
fleet, which threatened the city until a contrary wind 
sprang up. He came over to Brooklyn in time to see 
from the lines the desperate retreat of the men across 
Gowanus swamp. 

" My God ! " he exclaimed, " what brave men must I 
this day lose ! " 

The battle was all over by two o'clock in the after- 
noon, though straggling parties of Americans made their 
way into the lines until the next morning. If Howe had 
succeeded entirely in his plans he would have cut off all 
the American army outside of the works. A surprising 
number of the Americans, however, escaped. There were 
only about one thousand men missing, and the losses in 
killed and wounded were nearly equal, amounting to 
something over three hundred in each army. 

In this battle about five thousand Americans were 
driven back by nearly twenty thousand English. They 
must have been driven back sooner or later by a superior 
force, but they were outflanked and surrounded, a fact 
which was very mortifying to the Americans. Wash- 
ington had written frankly some time before this of 
"the want of experience to move upon a large scale," 
which, he said, " is common to us all." This lack of 
experience had no doubt something to do with the loss 
of the day. 

There were great rejoicings in England over this vic- 
tory. In many places bonfires were built, windows were 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 153 

illuminated, and cannon were fired. But tlie American 
leaders did not lose heart. " We have lost a battle and a 
small island," said Dr. Rush in Congress, " but we have 
not lost a State. Why, then, should we be discouraged? 
Or why should we be discouraged even if we had lost a 
State?" 



154 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

A NIGHT RETREAT. 

1776. 

It rained very hard for two days and nights after the 
battle of Long Island. Since a powerful army lay near at 
hand, it was necessary to keep the men in the Brooklyn 
lines on duty. In some places the poor fellows stood " up 
to their middles" in water. There could be no such 
thing as cooking, and they must live on hard biscuit and 
raw pork. They were so exhausted that it was almost 
imj)ossible to keep them awake. When they did rest they 
lay on their arms, without tents or any other covering 
from the soaking rain. W^ashington said that the soldiers 
were almost broken down. The commander in chief 
spent these two hard days in Brooklyn, and was on horse- 
back night and day. He was certain now that most of 
the English army was on Long Island, and he ordered 
over more troops from Xew York. 

General Howe's camp lay in full sight of the Brook- 
lyn works. There were some " pretty smart " skirmishes 
during these rainy days. Once a party of the English ad- 
vanced and took possession of some high ground near the 
American lines. Tlie Americans marched out and drove 
them away, but after they had retired the enemy took it 
again. Here they began to dig and throw up a breast- 



A NIGHT RETREAT. I55 

work, which by the next morning was sixty rods long. 
Washington now saw that the enemy meant to advance 
by trenches, and as some parts of his works were made 
only of brush, he knew that they could not stand a regu- 
lar siege. Then he feared that the English would make 
their way into the East River and cut off his retreat. 
The wind had been against them as yet, but when it 
should turn he expected that some of the smaller vessels 
would manage to get in through Buttermilk Channel, 
between Long Island and Governor's Island, or to sail 
safely over the hulks he had sunk between that island 
and New York. He did not wish to fight the English 
with but half of his army of tired and discouraged men ; 
nor did he dare to risk the loss of the division in Brook- 
lyn by leaving it to be surrounded. He called a council 
of war, and the officers agreed with Washington that a 
retreat was necessary. 

The general kept his intentions a secret. He sent 
trusted men " to impress every kind of water craft from 
Hell Gate to Spuyten Duyvil Creek " that could be kept 
afloat, and that had either oars or sails." He gave out 
that he was going to move over re-enforcements from 
New York in these boats. Washington then ordered the 
men to parade at seven o'clock in the evening in order of 
battle. The poor fellows thought that they were going 
to fight once more, and some of them made noncupative 
wills — that is, by word of mouth to their comrades. 
Later they were given to nnderstand that they were to 
be exchanged for fresh men from New Jersey. 

When darkness came on all was very busy, though all 
was silent inside the American lines. The sick were 



156 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

moved to the ferry first, where they were put into boats 
and taken to New York. Then the army began to move. 
As one regiment marched off the next one filled its place, 
so that the lines should not be left unmanned at any 
point. The men carried their baggage on their shoul- 
ders, " through mud and mire, and not a ray of light visi- 
ble." The work of getting them over the East River in 
boats went on slowly, for the wind was contrary, and the 
sailing craft could not be used. At this rate they could 
not cross before morning, when the enemy would dis- 
cover what was going on and intercept the retreating 
army. But by eleven o'clock a breeze from the southeast 
sprang up, and now rowboats and whaleboats, j)eriaugers, 
sloops, and sailboats were all in motion. Some of them 
were loaded to within three inches of the water. 

In the middle of the night a cannon which was being 
spiked went off accidentally. The roaring sound in the 
stillness of the night produced a startling effect. A party 
of men, under General Mifflin, were left to man the 
works until the last. It was agreed that they were to 
make a stand around the church in case the enemy at- 
tacked them, so that the rest of the army might have 
time to get safely away. One of the officers, however, 
misunderstood his orders, and the entire force marched 
for the ferry about two o'clock in the morning. Wash- 
ington met them and ordered them back to the lines, " or 
the most disagreeable consequences " might follow, he 
said, since all was confusion at the ferry. The poor fel- 
lows marched back to their posts, and there they stayed 
until daylight, feeding the camp fires, so that the enemy 
might not have reason to suspect anything. Luckily, it 



A NIGHT RETREAT. 157 

was a foggy morning, and they could hear the English 
working away at their trenches with spade and pickaxe, 
quite as though their game had not already escaped them. 

Washington was everywhere during this anxious night, 
and he saw the last man on the boats before he would 
leave himself. In one of the last boat loads was a certain 
Captain Miller, who could not resist the temptation to 
stand up and give three cheers as the craft moved away in 
the fog. His huzzas brought down a volley of musketry 
from the enemy, which nearly swamped the overladen 
boat. 

Washington succeeded in carrying away everything 
in his hasty retreat excepting a few cannon, which sank 
in the mud so that they could not be drawn. The retreat 
from Long Island was managed with great ability, and 
has since been greatly admired, but it caused much dis- 
couragement in the country, where it was not clearly 
understood how necessary it was that too much should 
not be risked. 



158 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

AYOIDIXG A TRAP. 

1776. 

Washington had wished to hold Brooklyn, for the 
reason that it would be impossible for him to defend 
New York unless he could command the East Elver, 
which runs between the two towns. Now, however, the 
enemy was free to bombard the little city from both rivers 
and reduce it to ashes. But what Washington feared 
most was that Howe would get into his rear in Westches- 
ter County by way of the sound and the East River, and 
so catch him in a trap. Hemmed in between the Eng- 
lish fleet and the English army, he and his men would 
have been captured, and the ruin of the American cause 
must have followed such an event. 

Soon after the retreat from Brooklyn the ship of war 
Rose slipped in between Governor's Island and Long Is- 
land. The Americans fired upon her from New York, 
but, though they struck her several times in the hull, she 
got by and anchored in Wallabout Bay, on the Brooklyn 
side. Washington observed that the English ships were 
drawing together and " getting close in with Governor's 
Island," while he knew, on the other hand, that the 
enemy had a large camp on the sound. These were 
ominous signs. He began to move away stores and the 



AVOIDING A TRAP. 159 

sick, which made about a quarter of his army. He also 
caused all the church bells in New York to be taken 
down and sent into New Jersey to be melted into 
cannon. 

The idea of abandoning the city after his men had 
worked so hard to build defenses for it was very unpalata- 
ble to Washington. The English fought shy of the de- 



r 












^JL Ml nun 



,c '. 'f^'^i^wrapiw 







VIEW OF KINGSBRIDGE. 

[Fvom an old print.] 



fenses, and were preparing to surround and entrap the 
Americans. In fact, they did not wish to destroy the 
town, which would make fine winter quarters for them. 
General Greene thought that New York should be burned 
by the American army, so that the enemy would fail of 
their warm quarters. Washington wrote to Congress to 
ask whether he should set fire to the city in case he 
should be forced to abandon it. The members of Con- 
gress, however, voted that New York should not be dam- 



leo THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

aged, for they expected to regain tl\e town again should 
it be lost. At a council of war it was decided to keep 
part of the army in the city, and move the other part up 
to Kingsbridge. The American officers disliked to aban- 
don New York, since Congress seemed to be opposed to 
such a movement. But Washington received word from 
Congress that the army should not remain in the town 
longer than was thought best, and a second council of 
war decided on evacuating the city. That same night a 
number of English boats went in between Governor's 
Island and Long Island to join the Rose at Wallabout 
Bay, where other English ships soon assembled. 

Washington now moved men and stores as fast as pos- 
sible to Harlem Heights. On the 14th of September he 
took up his headquarters at the Morris mansion, at what 
is now One Hundred and Sixty-first Street, but then 
many miles out of the city. Toward sunset on this day 
ten ships made their way into the East River, though the 
batteries in Xew York fired upon them. The next day, 
which was Sunday, three men of war went up the Hud- 
son, so that the American army was threatened from both 
sides. Washington was at Harlem, watching the move- 
ments of the enemy, who seemed likely to land from Ran- 
dall's Island. Part of his army was still in New York, at 
the lower end of the island, to defend his retreat, and part 
was stretched along the East River behind earthworks, to 
prevent the English from landing at any point and cut- 
ting the American forces in two. The question was 
where would they land? Very early on this Sunday 
morning five British men-of-war, which had been in Wal- 
labout Bay, crossed over to the New York side and placed 



AVOIDING A TRAP. 161 

themselves near a cove called Kip's Bay. The American 
militiamen who were stationed at this cove could see the 
name of the Phoenix distinctly. At Wallabont Bay Eng- 
lish soldiers were embarking in eighty-four boats. One 
of the American soldiers who gazed at the boat loads of 
red-coated men from the New York side said that they 
looked like "a large clover field in full bloom." But 
the Americans did not gaze long. Suddenly the five 
ships opened a broadside of seventy or eighty cannon 
full upon the breastworks at Kip's Bay. The roar was 
deafening, and there was nothing for the militia to do 
but to keep under cover. Even then the English fired 
at them from their masts. Soon tlie men were almost 
buried in the remains of their breastworks. The " clover 
field " had arrived by this time, and the English troops 
were landed under cover of the smoke from the cannon. 
The Americans at Kip's Bay beat a retreat from the guns 
of the ships, and this retreat soon became a flight. Other 
men were ordered up to hold the enemy in check, for the 
soldiers who were still in New York were in danger if the 
Americans did not make a stand and give them time to 
escape. 

Washington was at Harlem, four miles away, when he 
heard the cannonade. He put spurs to his horse and rode 
toward the place of danger as quickly as possible. On 
what is still known as Murray Hill stood the house of 
Robert Murray and a large corn field. Here the general 
met his flying militiamen and tried to rally them. 

" Take the walls ! Take the cornfield ! " he shouted. 

But the men took to their heels, although there were 
only about seventy of the enemy in sight. Washington 
13 



162 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



was so disgusted that he fell into a towering passion. He 

drew his sword, threatening 
to run the men through, 
and cocked his pistols 
at them. But they 
fled, leaving him 
facing the enemy 
almost alone and 
in danger of 
being shot. He 
was so vexed 
that he threw 
his hat on 
ground, and 
was thought 
that for the mo- 
ment he " sought 
death rather than 
h life." Some one 
who was with him, 
however, caught the 
-^ bridle of his horse and 

turned the animal in the 
opposite direction. 
There was now great danger 
at the troops which lay three 
below in New York would be 
General Putnam and his 
, Aaron Burr, galloped down 
past the retreating men, to their rescue. 

MAP OF AMERICAN RETREAT ^ . 

FROM NEW YORK CITY. Most of tlicm lav lu aud near a fort 




AVOIDING A TRAP. 163 

which stood outside of the city. They could see the 
enemy taking possession of the island above them, but 
they had no orders. Presently came Burr telling them 
to retreat. General Knox answered that there was no 
hope for them, and that he would defend the fort till 
the last. But Burr declared that he could show them a 
way out. He and Putnam led the men along the west 
side of the island, taking great pains to keep them in 
the woods and out of sight of the road. The officers 
were everywhere urging the men on. The day was very 
hot, and some of the exhausted soldiers died at springs 
wdiere they drank. Everything depended on whether the 
English should stretch their lines across the island before 
the Americans could pass them, under cover of the woods. 
Meantime General Howe and his officers, with true Brit- 
ish deliberation, had stopped at the house of Mrs. Robert 
Murray, who treated them to cake and wine. Governor 
Tryon, who was with Howe, joked Mrs. Murray about her 
American friends. Two hours were spent in this way. 
While the English leaders were enjoying Mrs. Murray's 
refreshments, the rear of the American forces safely made 
its hasty and winding march of twelve miles to Harlem. 
It was often said after this that Mrs. Murray's cake and 
wine saved a part of the American army. 



16i THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXVU. 

A SMALL BATTLE. 

1776. 

Washington drew his army up on Harlem Heights 
and extended it across from the Harlem River to the 
Hudson. A little above he had caused hulks of vessels 
loaded with stones to be sunk in the river and fastened 
together with chains between two military posts named 
Fort Washington and Fort Lee, and he hoped thus to 
defend his position and keep the enemy from going up 
the river. Below the heights toward the city lay a hol- 
low, and beyond the hollow were Bloomingdale Heights. 
As Bloomingdale Heights were covered with woods, the 
movements of the enemy on this part of the island could 
not be seen. Before daylight on the morning after his 
retreat from New York, Washington sent a party of 
rangers, under the command of Colonel Thomas Knowl- 
ton, a brave officer who had fought at Bunker's Hill, to 
reconnoiter toward Bloomingdale Heights, so that the 
general might know what the English were about there, 
and to protect the main body of the Americans who were 
digging intrenchments about this new camp. Colonel 
Knowlton marched forward through the woods, till he 
fell upon a part of the English forces. He placed his 
men behind a stone wall, and there was a smart little 



A SMALL BATTLE. 165 

skirmish, in which about ten Americans were killed. 
Knowlton then found that the enemy was trying to turn 
his flank, and retreated. 

While this skirmish was going on Washington was 
writing a letter to Congress, in which he told how, the 
day before, a part of his troo23S at Kip's Bay had run 
away from the enemy " without firing a single shot," and 
how their "disgraceful and dastardly conduct" had cost 
him the loss of most of his heavy cannon in New York. 
Just as the general sent away this letter he was informed 
that there was fighting going on, and rode to the Point of 
Rocks, where he could look off and see his rangers re- 
treating in good order, while the enemy appeared on 
Bloomingdale Heights, where they blew their bugles as 
though they were on a fox-chase — a sound which made 
the Americans' blood boil. 

Colonel Knowlton reported that there were about 
three hundred of the enemy, and as Washington knew 
that they must be detached from the main army, he 
thought he might capture them. He sent out some 
troops to engage them in front while others should steal 
around to their rear. When the English saw a small 
party of Americans marching out to attack them, they 
ran down the hill into a field and took a position behind 
some bushes and a rail fence. In order to keep the Eng- 
lish busy while another detachment was marching to 
their rear, the Americans began firing at long range. 
The party which attempted to get behind the enemy was 
made up of New England men, under Colonel Knowlton, 
and Virginians, under Major Leitch. By some mistake, 
they did not wait until they were in the rear to make 



166 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



their attack, but oi^ened fire when they were on the 
flank or side of the Englishmen. The British began to 




"Xnoiulronit i«itcl) flankinq 



MAP OF THE 
BATTLE OF HARLEM HEIGHTS. 



retreat, and the Americans rushed after them, up the 
rockv sides of Bloomingdale Heights, pouring in a heavy 



A SMALL BATTLE. 1^7 

fire upon the enemy. At the top of the ridge Major 
Leitch fell, with three bullets in his side, and was carried 
back to the army, where he died about two weeks later. 
Colonel Knowlton also soon received a mortal wound. A 
captain who stood by his side asked him if he was badly 
hurt. 

" I am," answered the brave officer, " but I do not 
value my life if we do but get the day." 

The fighting went on, and Washington ordered up re- 
enforcements until the Americans amounted to about 
eighteen hundred, in command of Putnam, Greene, and 
Clinton. They charged the English and drove them 
from the top of the heights through a piece of woods to a 
buckwheat field. Here the English were re-enforced by 
Hessian troops and two field pieces. There was a stub- 
born little battle in the buckwheat field, which lasted for 
an hour and a half. Again the enemy fell back, and again 
the Americans chased them to an orchard, and on down 
one slope and up another. The officers thought best to 
leave off the pursuit here, as they were near the main 
body of the British army, and already fresh men were 
harrying forward to oppose them. Washington dared 
not bring on a general engagement, and he ordered his 
men back. They gave a loud hurrah and retreated in 
good order. 

The battle of Harlem, as this affair is sometimes called, 
had a good effect in giving the Americans some heart, for 
they had been deeply discouraged by the defeat at Long 
Island. It was plain that they could face and drive the 
enemy in the field. 

The American army lay on Harlem Heights, digging 



IQS THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

industriously. " I have never spaced the spade and the 
pickaxe," said Washington. General Howe had his dis- 
couragements now. He had a wholesome respect for 
Americans behind intrenchments, and he did not see 
how he was to dislodge them from Harlem Heights. 
The royalists did not flock to his standard in great num- 
bers, as Governor Tryon had promised, while in England 
it was expected that he would conquer the Americans be- 
fore the year was out. 

If Howe had causes for discouragement, Washington's 
were much greater. He had now only about fourteen 
thousand men in his army. They had been engaged for a 
year, and in a few months their time of service would be 
out. Depending on the militia was, he said, " leaning on 
a broken staff." After the battle of Long Island, indeed, 
great numbers of these troops had marched off home. As 
they took with them arms, which were even more precious 
than men, Washington was forced to place a guard at 
Kingsbridge to stop the fugitives. This guard arrested 
one fellow who carried a bag in which there was, among 
other things, a cannon ball. When he was asked Avhat he 
wanted with this, he said that he was taking it home to 
his mother to " pound mustard with." 

The early ardor for war had died away. When men 
were first " irritated and their passions inflamed," as Wash- 
ington said, they flew " hastily to war," but now a soldier 
who was reasoned with and told fine things about the 
rights he was contending for, would answer that this was 
all very true, but that these rights were of no more im- 
portance to him than to others, and that he could not 
afford to ruin himself to serve his country while every one 



A SMALL BATTLE. 169 

in the country was benefited by his labors. The few men 
who were really disinterested, Washington said, were but 
" a drop in the ocean." Because of his great difficulties in 
raising and training men only to have them dispersed 
again, Washington begged, and begged often in vain, 
that soldiers might be raised for the term of the whole 
war. There was a good deal of jealousy in Congress lest 
Washington, should he have a permanent army, would 
have too much power — a power which might endanger the 
liberties of the country. 

Washington's many difficulties, the poverty of America, 
the weakness of Congress as a government, the inexperi- 
ence of the men and officers, and the lack of all kinds of 
manufactured articles for warfare, left but one course for 
him to pursue. He must make the struggle a war of posts ; 
he must retreat from post to j^ost when threatened by supe- 
rior force, and not risk his " young troops " in the open 
field. In this way he might compel the enemy to waste their 
time and spend immense sums of money without gaining 
any advantage so great as to promise a successful end to 
the war. On the other hand, should he once lose his army 
and stores America could not recover from the blow. 

There were wise men in Europe who saw that this 
was Washington's true policy ; but the people of America 
looked for a brilliant stroke which should put a speedy 
end to the war, just as the English Government expected 
that Howe would reduce America in one campaign. 
Washington's position was a very unhappy one, as he lay 
upon Harlem Heights and looked back over a summer 
of disaster and loss. He said that he should not be sur- 
prised were he " capitally censured by Congress." He 



170 THE STORY OF WASHIXGTOX. 

wrote a confidential letter to Lund .Washington, a man 
who had charge of Mount Vernon, in which he described 
his difficulties, so that his friend might make them public, 
out of justice to his character, in case he fell. " If I were 
to wish the bitterest curse to an enemy on this side the 
grave," wrote Washington, " I should put him in my stead 
with my feelings." 

There were many no doubt who at this time blamed 
Washington for the losses of the summer. Some thought 
that General Lee, who had fought in Europe, would 
make a much better commander. It is plain now that 
though Washington had accomplished nothing brilliant 
during the summer, he had done much with his small, 
badly equipped army in giving General Howe all that 
he could do for months to gain possession of one small 
city. " Is it not strange," said bluff old Putnam, " that 
those invincible troops, who were to destroy and lay 
waste all this country with their fleets and army, are so 
fond of islands and peninsulas, and dare not put their 
feet on the main ! " 



THE BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS. lYl 



CHAPTER XXYIIL 

THE BATTLE OF WHITE PLAI^^S AND THE LOSS OF 
FORT WASHINGTON. 

1776. 

Washington wished very much to hold Harlem 
Heights, so that he might guard the great water way, the 
Hudson River. But, after wasting a great deal of time, 
Howe tried once more his favorite stratagem of gaining 
the American rear, hoping to capture Washington's whole 
army and thus end the war, as people in England ex- 
pected him to do. He sent two frigates up the Hudson. 
They got over the sunken hulks at high tide with very 
little trouble, though the American gunners at Fort Lee 
and Fort Washington did their best to injure the English 
ships with cannon balls. This was a disappointment to 
Washington, as he had hoped that the sunken vessels and 
the batteries on either side would have been enough to 
block the river. Three days later Howe put a large 
part of his army on ships, sailed up the East River 
through Hell Gate, and landed at Throg's Neck, a point 
jutting out from the Westchester coast ; but a body of 
Americans pulled up the boards of the causeways which 
connected this point with the mainland, and so held the 
English army in a trap. 

While the enemy was wasting time at Throg's Neck, 



172 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Washington lield a council of war, and decided to change 
his position, lest Howe should get into his rear. So he 
moved back, and placed his army along the Bronx River. 
Not caring to face the American riflemen at the broken 
causeways, Howe put his men into boats once more and 
moved over to Pell's Point. From here he marched 
toward Xew Rochelle. He was attacked on the way by 
a body of militiamen from behind stone walls. The Eng- 
lish lost some men in this skirmish, and Washington 
praised the Americans for their conduct. 

Howe spent several days at New Rochelle. It was 
important for W^ashington to know what the enemy was 
doing, for he and the English general were now playing 
a desperate game, and it was a question as to who could 
move most quickly and wisely. He accordingly sent 
Colonel Putnam to find out. Putnam took the cockade 
out of his hat, pulled it down about his ears, and hid his 
sword and pistols. This was enough to make an Ameri- 
can officer look like any other man. He then rode 
near the enemy's lines, and learned from some people 
who were friendly to the American cause that the Eng- 
lish were secretly moving toward White Plains, where the 
Americans had some stores which they could not afford 
to lose. Colonel Putnam rode back to camp and told the 
general what he had discovered. Washington immedi- 
ately pushed his army on to Wliite Plains, and was there 
before Howe. He placed his forces on some hilly ground, 
with the left of his army protected by a mill pond and 
the right by a bend in the Bronx River. He hastily 
threw up breastworks made of cornstalks, the roots, with 
the soil clinging to them, being placed outward, so that 







MAP OF THE BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS. 



THE BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS. 173 

they looked like real earthworks. Washington also sta- 
tioned a part of his men on Chatterton's Hill, which lay 
on his right on the other side of the Bronx. There was 
no time to fortify this spot even with cornstalks, for Howe 
appeared by the 28th of October. The two armies were 
each thirteen thousand strong. The English were about 
to attack the Americans in front at first, but the corn- 
stalk works looked formidable from without, and they 
turned their forces against Chatterton's Hill. About 
four thousand British and Hessians pushed up the as- 
cent. The Americans, who were only about sixteen hun- 
dred in number at this point, poured a hot fire down upon 
them, at short range, from the crest of the slope. The Eng- 
lish fell back, but came on again and were met once more 
with a withering fire. Meantime, however, a body of 
Hessians had attacked the hill on the right, where there 
were militia posted, and had driven them back. The 
Americans were now between two fires and were forced 
to retreat to the main army, carrying off their wounded 
and artillery. They lost one hundred and thirty in killed 
and wounded, and thirty prisoners. The English lost two 
hundred and thirty-one. 

Howe meant now to try to carry the American corn- 
stalk works by assault, but he waited all the next day for 
re-enforcements. When they arrived it was raining, and 
meantime Washington, having removed the stores at 
White Plains, made one of his quick moves in the night 
back to the heights of North Castle, where his position 
was so strong that Howe thought best to let him alone. 
It was this quickness of Washington in evading the 
enemy which made his men nickname him " Sly Fox." 



174 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

The Euglisli general now turned his attention to Fort 
Washington, which lay in his rear, and which he wished to 
reduce before marching upon Philadelphia. Since it had 
been found that this post could not prevent the enemy's 
vessels from sailing up the Hudson, Washington's judg- 
ment had been against holding it. But Congress wished 
it to be held. While he was at White Plains, however, 
Washington sent word to General Greene, who command- 
ed at Fort Washington and its companion. Fort Lee, across 
the river, to withdraw the artillery and stores from the 
post preparatory to abandoning it. But he did not make 
this a positive command, as he thought Greene, who 
was on the s23ot, could judge better than he whether it 
would be necessary. Meantime Washington, so soon as 
Howe began to withdraw from White Plains, threw a part 
of his men over into New Jersey, going with them him- 
self, since he thought that the English general must march 
into this State next, for, said he, " what has he done as 
yet with his great army?" When Washington reached 
Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side, he found to his chagrin 
that General Greene had done notliing toward evacuating 
Fort Washington. There was time yet to withdraw 
the garrison, but the dislike Congress had shown to such 
a measure, the advice of many about him, and the fact 
that the true policy of ilmerica was to cause the English 
to waste the campaign without coming to a general 
action or allowing them to overrun the country, caused, as 
Washington afterward said, a " warfare " and hesitation 
in his mind which ended in his letting the opportunity 
slip for abandoning the fort. 

Howe had been slowly drawing his forces around Fort 



THE LOSS OF FORT WASHINGTON. 175 

Washington. There were a number of outside works be- 
longing to this post which were to be defended with 
something over twenty-eight hundred men. Meantime 
an American officer in the fort, named Demont, deserted 
to the enemy with plans of the works and information of 
the numbers and position of the enemy. The English 
general summoned the garrison to surrender on the 15th 
of November, threatening to put the men to the sword if 
they did not do so. Colonel Magaw made answer that 
such a threat was unworthy of a British general, and that 
he was determined to defend the post. Washington and 
several of his generals crossed over the Hudson the next 
day in boats, gave what advice they could, and then went 
back. The English attacked the American works in three 
places on the same day. One column moved down from 
Kingsbridge, another crossed the Harlem, and a third 
came up from the direction of New York. The Ameri- 
cans fought in a spirited manner, and Washington, who 
watched them from the other side of the river, hoped that 
they would repulse the English ; but a fourth column of 
the enemy presently crossed the Harlem, got into the rear 
of the men facing toward the city, and forced them to fly to 
the fort in confusion. The Americans were now driven in 
from the other points, and they were all crowded together 
in the fort, where they were exposed to a deadly fire from 
all sides. Howe summoned Magaw to surrender. He 
asked for a parley of four hours. He was allowed half an 
hour. Washington sent a captain over in a boat to tell 
Magaw to hold out till night, when he would try to bring 
the men off. The captain ran through the enemy's fire 
to deliver his message. Magaw, however, had gone too 
14 



176 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



far in making a treaty. He surrendered, and Washington 
lost over twenty-eight hundred men, while the English 
lost some four hundred and fifty in killed and wounded. 

The fall of Fort Washington was a very severe blow to 
the American cause. Greene, who was more responsible 

for it than any 
other officer, said, 
" I feel mad, vexed, 
sick and sorry." 
Washington la- 
mented his men, 
many of whom had 
been well trained, 
and regretted the 
loss of so many 
arms and accoutre- 
ments, articles hard 
for America to procure. But he nobly refrained from 
blaming others, and it was long before the world knew 
that the fort was held against his better judgment. " I 
never shall attempt to palliate my own foibles by expo- 
sing the error of another," he said some years after, in 
alluding to this event. At the time he merely wrote 
regretfully that, without this misfortune. General Howe, 
with so much the best and largest army, " would have 
had a poor tale to tell." 




REMAINS OF FORT WASHINGTON AS THEY AP- 
PEARED IN 1850. 



[From an old print.] 



CHASED THROUGH NEW JERSEY. 177 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CHASED THROUGH NEW JERSEY. 

1776. 

It was useless to try to hold Fort Lee after the capture 
of Fort Washington. The general ordered that the ammu- 
nition and cannon should be moved away from this post, 
but before everything could be saved Cornwallis crossed 
the Hudson above the fort, on a stormy night, with 
about six thousand men. The morning found the Eng- 
lish threatening the fort. Washington immediately rode 
there from Hackensack, and he and Greene hurried the 
men away, leaving their tents standing and their kettles 
boiling over the fires. By moving very quickly they were 
all got across the Hackensack before Cornwallis could in- 
tercept them. 

Everything now looked very gloomy for the American 
army. During three months over five thousand of their 
men had been made prisoners, killed, and wounded, be- 
sides many who had died of disease. Over two hundred 
cannon had also been lost, as well as many tents and 
much baggage. While Washington was in New York 
State he had succeeded in keeping a powerful English 
army, with its well- trained men and fine artillery, at bay, 
by taking advantage of the rough, hilly country and the 
stone walls which made natural breastworks, and by using 



178 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

the pickaxe and shovel on every occasion. Xow, however, 
he was in a level land, while the all-important spades and 
pickaxes had been left behind in his rapid marches. He 
had little over three thousand men with him by this 
time, and many of them belonged to the " flying camp," 
as the militia were called, and were anxious to be dis- 
missed from their hard service. Perhaps few generals 
were ever placed in a harder position. 

General Lee had been left by Washington on the other 
side of the Hudson with half of the dwindling army. 
The commander now sent Lee word to join him. There 
was danger lest Washington should be shut in by the 
enemy between the Hackensack and the Passaic Rivers, 
so he crossed the Passaic and marched to Xewark. He 
left Newark on the 28th of November, and while his 
rear was marching out of the town at one end the Brit- 
ish advance marched in at the other. Washington 
pushed on to New Brunswick, where he thought of 
trying to prevent the English from crossing the Raritan, 
but he found that the stream was so shallow that they 
could walk through it anywhere. At this place some 
New Jersey and Maryland troops, whose time was up, re- 
fused to stay with the American army an hour longer. 

Washington had hoped that the New Jersey militia 
would turn out to help him defend their State ; but, in- 
stead of this, the people seemed to think that the cause 
was lost, and, wishing to save their property, submitted to 
the English as fast as they approached. The general, in 
his anger, declared that the conduct of this State was 
" infamous." He hurried on to Trenton, got his stores 
across the Delaware, and then turned about to face the 



CHASED THROUGH NEW JERSEY. 



179 



enemy once more. But a large English army was ap- 
proaching by this time, for Howe, finding how weak 
Washington was, had come from New York to take the 
head of his forces, and was planning to take 
Philadelphia, and so to make a brilliant end- 
ing to the year's work. There was nothinsf < 
for Washington but to cross the Delawan 
Once over, he took across or de- 

' "Ran 

stroyed all the boats upon the stream 




MAP OF THE 
RETREAT THROUGH NEW JERSEY 



within seventy miles of him, and stationed his men at the 
fords to prevent the enemy from going any farther. 

Washington's numbers now amounted to only about 
three thousand men. He had sent repeated orders to 



180 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

General Lee to join him, with the, other half of the 
army, but this general preferred to stay where he 
would have a separate command, and there is reason to 
believe that he wished for Washington's ruin. He made 
various excuses, and remained away. Lee was at this 
time very popular. The commander in chief was blamed 
by many for the misfortunes of 1776, and they imag- 
ined all would have gone better with Lee in com- 
mand. Even an officer and particular friend of Washing- 
ton — Colonel Reed — wrote to Lee in words which showed 
that he thought him an abler officer than the chief. Lee's 
answer was opened by Washington, who thought it was 
on matters of business, and he was hurt to discover the 
way in which he was spoken of by those nearest him. 
He sent the letter to Reed, explaining how he had come 
to see words which he would rather not have seen. When 
Reed afterward tried to explain the matter away, Wash- 
ington received his apologies very generously. At this 
disastrous time, however, the unkind words mr.st have 
given him pain. Instead of marching to Washington's 
aid, Lee chose to hang upon the rear of the enemy in 
New Jersey. He was finally taken prisoner, and igno- 
miniously carried off without a hat by a party of Eng- 
lish soldiers. His reputation had a sudden fall, for it 
was suspected that he had kept near the enemy because 
he wished to be taken. Washington only said, " Unhap- 
py man ! " 

It was the darkest moment during the whole war 

when Washington lay at the fords of the Delaware with 

but a few thousand men. He hoped the enemy would 

'find it hard to cross the river, but he feared that they 



CHASED THROUGH NEW JERSEY. 181 

might bring up pontoons; and, in any case, when the 
river should freeze, they could easily march upon Phila- 
delphia. He feared that the loss of that city, the larg- 
est in America and the seat of Congress, would result in 
the entire failure of the American cause. One of Wash- 
ington's fine qualities, however, was a certain equability 
of temperament, which prevented him from being unduly 
depressed by misfortune or very much elated by success. 
He wrote to his brother at this dark time that the cause 
was so just that he could not believe that it would " final- 
ly sink," though it might " remain for some time under 
a cloud." He was determined at least to keep up the 
" shadow of an army." Report, he said, would exagger- 
ate his numbers, and so aid in causing the enemy to re- 
spect him. He was even wondering what he should do 
if the worst should happen. 

" What think you," said he to General Mercer, " if we 
should retreat to the back parts of Pennsylvania ; would 
the Pennsylvanians support us?" 

" If the lower counties give up, the back counties will 
do the same," answered Mercer. 

" We must then," said Washington, " retire to Au- 
gusta County, in Virginia. Numbers will repair to us for 
safety, and we will try a predatory war. If overpowered, 
we must cross the Alleghanies." 

A man who saw the American general during these 
dreary days on the Delaware has left a description of him. 
Washington was standing by a small camp fire, but he 
did not appear to be warming himself, and was lost in 
thought. He was as straight " as an Indian, and did not 
for a moment relax from a military attitude." The ob- 



182 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

server said that he seemed to be six feet and a half in 
height. He was not " what the hidies would call a pretty 
man," he said, but he was a " heroic figure." His " hair 
was a chestnut brown, his cheeks were prominent, and 
his head was not large in contrast to every other part of 
his body, which seemed large and bony at all points. His 
finger joints and wrists were so large as to be genuine 
curiosities." His knee was a little lame from running 
against a tree, and his nose was red from the piercing 
wind. Otherwise his face was very colorless, and his eyes 
were so gray as to appear almost white. He was hoarse, 
and had a piece of flannel tied around his throat. His 
face wore a troubled look, as he stood thinking by the 
camp fire. He was, in fact, planning one more effort to 
save the cause by a last desperate blow at the enemy. 



THE BATTLE OP TRENTON. 



183 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE BATTLE OF TRENTON. 

1776. 

The English, finding the Delaware well guarded, had 
gone into winter quarters at New Brunswick, Borden- 
town, Princeton, and Trenton, until the time when the 




THE BLUE KOOM IN THE BEEKMAN HOUSE. 

[Howe's headquarters in New York.] 

river should freeze over and make an easy road to Phila- 
delphia. General Howe made his way back to New 
York to enjoy the winter, and Cornwallis was about to 
sail for England. When Washington had crossed the 



184 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Delaware Congress had thought best to take refuge 
in Baltimore, and many of the people of Philadelphia 
had fled the town in wagons or in boats. The con- 
test seemed to be about over. Prominent men on the 
American side, it is said, were discussing the probability 
of their being hanged for rebels. The American soldiers 
were so badly clothed, that men went around Philadelphia 
and collected old clothes for them as for an army of beg- 
gars, and Washington was grateful even for this aid. His 
forces were about this time increased by some thousands of 
new men. A body of militia had joined him from Phila- 
delphia, and after Lee's lucky capture his division joined 
Washington's army. But the first of January was near at 
hand, and he would have only fifteen hundred regular 
soldiers after this time, as the term of service of most 
of the men ran out with the old year. He was almost 
in despair when he thought of it. It was apparent to 
Washington that some desperate effort must be made to 
rouse the spirits of the people, or an army could not be 
raised for the coming year. He was probably revolving 
such a plan in his mind when he stood before the little 
camp fire, pale and troubled, with a red nose and a sore 
throat. He held a council of war, at which it was de- 
cided to make an effort to capture a Hessian force of 
twelve hundred men which lay at Trenton. " For 
Heaven's sake, keep this to yourself ! " he wrote to Colonel 
Reed. He found that his numbers were even smaller 
than he had thought, " but necessity, dixe necessity," he 
said, " will — nay, must — justify any attempt." 

Washington planned to cross the Delaware at Mc- 
Conkey's Ferry, nine miles above Trenton, himself. 



THE BATTLE OF TRENTON. 



185 



Another body of men under General Cadwalader was 
to cross opposite the town, and General Ewing was to 
make his way over at Bordentown to assist in surround- 
ing the Hessians. Cadwalader and Ewing failed to get 
across, however, on account of the floating ice. On 
Christmas eve Washington marched to the river with 
twenty-four hundred men, many of whom left bloody 
footprints on the snow, because their worn-out shoes did 




not protect their feet. It was a stormy night, and hail 
and snow were falling. A regiment of Marblehead sail- 
ors manned the boats, and the men were slowly pushed 
across amid great blocks of floating ice. It was already 
three o'clock on Christmas morning before the artillery 
was landed, and Washington feared that he would be too 
late to surprise the enemy ; but try he must. The men 
were provided with ropes to carry off captured cannon if 
possible, and hammers and spikes with which to spike 
them if not. Washington made his officers set their 



18C THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

watches by his, so that they might .all attack the town 
at the same moment. He divided his men intotwo col- 
umns, which were to march into Trenton from two differ- 
ent roads. Some of the soldiers sent word that they 
could not keep their muskets dry. Washington an- 
swered that, if they could not fire, they must use the bayo- 
net, for the town was to be taken at all hazards. The two 
columns struck Trenton within three minutes of each 
other. It was eight o'clock in the morning, but most of 
the Hessians were still sleeping soundly after a Christmas 
revel at which they had drunk pretty freely. The outposts 
were surprised, but retreated into Trenton, firing as they 
went, while the Americans rushed after them pell-mell. 
The sleepy Hessians and their commander, Kahl, jumped 
out of their beds to form in the streets of the town. 
But the Americans had already captured most of their 
cannon, and were sweeping the streets with them. The 
Hessians escaped into the fields and tried to retreat 
toward New Brunswick, but W^ashington, with a company 
of riflemen, intercepted them. They turned two guns 
against their pursuers, but the Americans charged them 
and took the cannon. Rahl fell mortally wounded while 
he was trying to rally his men, and the main body of 
the Hessians soon surrendered. Washington took nine 
hundred prisoners, six brass field pieces, standards, horses, 
and a great deal of plunder. He had only two men 
killed, one frozen to death, and six wounded. He dared 
not remain so near the enemy with so small a force.. 
His men were making too merry a Christmas out of 
the spirits they found in Trenton, and would be in 
no condition to resist an attack, so, having first made a 



THE BATTLE OF TRENTON. 187 

visit to the dying Rahl, he immediately recrossed the 
Delaware. 

That the people might realize how much of a victory 
had been won, the Hessian prisoners were marched 
through Philadelphia. They were sent to Virginia for 
safe-keeping, and everywhere that they went they were 
hooted at by the crowd for hiring themselves out to kill 
American freemen. Old women especially scolded them 
roundly. When Washington heard of this he caused 
notices to be posted in the towns through which the 
prisoners passed, informing the people that the Hessians 
had not come to America of their own free will, but were 
forced to do so, and should therefore be treated as friends 
rather than enemies. After this no more old women 
berated the unfortunate Germans, but old and young 
brought them food and treated them kindly. 

The battle of Trenton caused great joy in America 
and revived the drooping spirits of the people. But 
when Congress praised Washington for his success, he 
modestly answered that the other officers deserved as 
much praise as he did. 

Cornwallis thought best not to go to England. 



188 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON, 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 

1777. 

General Cadwalader, who had not succeeded in 
crossing the Delaware on the night of tlie capture of 
Trenton, went over two days later, for he supposed Wash- 
ington was still in New Jersey. He found that he was 
mistaken, but as the English forces in this part of the 
State had retreated toward New Brunswick, he marched 
to a town named Crosswicks. The Americans had gained 
heart wonderfully since the battle of Trenton, and fif- 
teen hundred militia soon followed Cadwalader across 
the Delaware. The New Jersey militia was also begin- 
ning to rise in different places. The people of this State 
had suffered much. They were the first Americans who 
knew what it was to have a victorious European army 
overrun their country. Washington had found it next to 
impossible to keep his men from plundering houses under 
pretense of punishing Tories. If it was hard to keep 
American soldiers from robbing their own people, it was 
impossible to prevent the English and Germans in 
Howe's army from plundering houses, burning property, 
and abusing women. The very people who had sub- 
mitted so tamely a few weeks before were now ready to 
rise against their conquerors. 



THE BATTLE OP PRINCETON. 189 

Washington was anxious to take advantage of this 
feeling among the Americans. With a great deal of trou- 
ble he persuaded his men whose time was up to stay 
with him six weeks longer, promising to pay them ten 
dollars bounty. He crossed the Delaware once more, 
meaning " to beat up the enemy's quarters " again, as he 
said. He took a stand in Trenton, where Oadwalader 
joined him by making a night march. But Cornwallis 
was on the alert now. He moved toward Trenton with 
eight thousand men, intending either to capture the 
Americans or drive them back over the Delaware. 
Washington sent out a detachment to delay the English 
army, which it did, disputing every foot of the road 
with Cornwallis. Meantime he drew up his men be- 
hind a shallow stream called the Assunpink, which runs 
through Trenton. As the English army neared the town, 
fighting with the American detachment, Washington sent 
out more troops to support his skirmishers, but they were 
all finally driven back, and the enemy entered Tren- 
ton. They tried several times to cross the Assunpink and 
attack the Americans, but they were driven back by the 
American artillery. Washington stood at the bridge over 
the Assunpink on his white horse commanding the men. 
When the English fell back the Americans cheered. 
Cornwallis decided to postpone the battle till the next 
day, when he could bring up re-enforcements from Prince- 
ton. He would " bag the fox in the morning," he said. 
The two armies merely kept up a cannonade until dark. 

A half an hour more would have decided the day and 
probably have defeated the American army, for the Eng- 
lish soldiers were greater in numbers, and were so much 



190 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



better disciplined, that it was hardly possible that the raw 
American troops could withstand them. Washington 
saw that he was in a dangerous position, for behind him 
ran the Delaware, blocked with floating ice, and if he 
were beaten retreat would be impossible. Nor did he 
dare dishearten the country once more by falling back 
without a battle. 

There was a roundabout 
which ran from Trenton 
Princeton, known as 
the Quaker road. 




Washington de- 
cided on the bold 
plan of secretly taking 
this road in the night, and thus get- 
ting into the rear of Cornwallis. He 
sent men to dig very industriously where 
the English sentries could hear them, 
that he might lead the English to sup- 
pose that he was determined to stay 
where he was. About midnight the 
Americans built up their camp fires on the bank of the 
creek, and marched away. Fortunately for them, the 
roads, which had been deep with mud, had now frozen 
up, and by sunrise of January 3d they were within two 
miles of Princeton. 



MAP OF THE BATTLE 
OF PRINCETON. 



THE BATTLE OP PRINCETON. 191 

Washington divided his men into two bodies ; one 
was to march straight into Princeton, while the other 
was to cross over to the main road which led from 
Princeton to Trenton, and break np a bridge over Stony 
Creek, so that Cornwallis could not easily come to the 
rescue. Three English regiments had spent the night in 
Princeton. It happened that one of these regiments, com- 
manded by Colonel Mawhood, had already marched out of 
Trenton on the way to join Cornwallis, while a second 
was about to start. Mawhood had crossed the bridge 
over Stony Creek when he saw the glitter of arms on 
the Quaker road. What he saw was General Mercer's 
division of the American army coming to destroy the 
bridge ; but the English officer, supposing it to be a 
broken portion of the American army defeated by Corn- 
wallis, faced about and recrossed the bridge to attack the 
Americans, while he sent messengers ahead to bring up 
the other regiments in Princeton. Mercer and Mawhood 
both tried to gain some high ground near at hand ; but 
the Americans got there first, and poured a hot fire down 
upon the British regiment. A shot in the leg of his 
horse dismounted General Mercer. The English now 
charged with fixed bayonets, and the Americans, having 
no bayonets, gave way. Mercer tried to rally them, but 
he was run through with bayonets, and his troops fled 
through an orchard, chased by the English soldiers. 

Meantime Washington, when he had heard the first 
firing, halted the other division of the army and sent for- 
ward a body of militia. Mawhood, when he came through 
the orchard, halted at the sight of fresh troops, and 
brought his artillery to bear upon them. Washington 
X5 



192 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

now rode up. He sent his aid, Fitzgerald, to order up 
more troops, and tried to rally Mercer's retreating men 
and encourage the fresh men arriving on the scene. He 
tried several times, and several times he failed. The fine 
discipline of the English soldiers was too much for the 
Americans. Fitzgerald returned from his errand just in 
time to see the commander in chief, as the men fell away 
from him, rein up his horse between his own lines and 
those of the enemy and there stand immovable. At this 
mute appeal the Americans halted, dressed their lines, 
and took aim. Washington stood between the fire of 
friend and foe. Fitzgerald pulled his hat over his eyes 
that he might not see his general killed. There was a 
roar of musketry and a shout. Fitzgerald looked once 
more. The enemy was flying, and Washington was to be 
dimly seen amid the smoke. The young man spurred his 
horse forward and cried, while the tears ran down his 
face : 

" Thank God, your excellency is safe ! " 

The general grasped his hand, and then said : " Away, 
my dear colonel, and bring up the troops — the day is our 
own." 

Mawhood's regiment fled toward Trenton. Another 
English regiment, marching out of Princeton to the res- 
cue, was beaten by the advance of the American army, 
under General St. Clair, and took to the fields, making its 
way back to New Brunswick. A part of the Third Regi- 
ment, which was still in Princeton, fled in the same direc- 
tion, while the remaining portion took refuge in the college 
building. A few cannon shot soon forced these men to 
surrender. Picking up some shoes and blankets left in 



THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 



193 



Princeton by the English, and burning some hay, the 
American army marched on to Somerset Courthouse, de- 
stroying the bridge over the Millstone behind them. 
Here Washington halted his men, for they had had no 
rest for two days and a night. 




NASSAU HALL, PRINCETON COLLEGE, WHERE THE BRITISH TOOK REFUGE 
AFTER THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 



The English at Trenton, when they heard firing in 
their rear, took it at first for thunder, but Cornwallis soon 
discovered that " the fox " had escaped him. He hurried 
back toward Princeton. A portion of his army neared 
this town just in time to see the Americans finish the 



194 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

destruction of the bridge across Stony Creek before leav- 
ing Princeton. The English lost about five hundred men 
in killed, wounded, and i^risoners at the battle of Prince- 
ton, while the Americans lost only thirty soldiers and 
some brave officers. But, worst of all, Washington, with 
his small force, had completely out-generaled them. Far 
from having been bagged, he had reconquered nearly the 
whole of New Jersey by his skillful moves. Cornwallis, 
afraid of losing his stores at New Brunswick — for Wash- 
ington had an eye on them — marched back there as quickly 
as possible. The English, who had been within nineteen 
miles of Philadelphia, were soon sixty miles away, posted 
at New BruDswick and Amboy, as near New York as pos- 
sible. In England it was remarked that Washington was 
not " the worst general in the field." 

When the joyful news of the battles of Trenton and 
Princeton reached Fredericksburg, where Washington's 
mother lived, a number of friends called on her and con- 
gratulated her on the deeds of her son. The old lady 
took the news very calmly. She remarked only that 
George seemed to have deserved well of his country, "but, 
my good sirs," she said, "here is too much flattery. Still, 
George will not forget the lessons I early taught him ; he 
Avill not forget himself, though he is the subject of so 
much praise." 

When Washington heard that Mercer was still alive, 
he sent his nephew. Major George Lewis, under a flag of 
truce, to attend him. This general, when he had been 
told with an oath to call for quarter during the British 
charge, answered by lunging his sword into the nearest 
man. Thereupon he was bayoneted and left for dead. 



THE BATTLE OP PRINCETON. 195 

The English surgeon seemed to think that Mercer might 
recover in spite of his many wounds, but the wounded 
man said to Major Lewis : " Raise up my right arm, 
George, and this gentleman will then discover the small- 
est of my wounds, but the one which will prove the most 
fatal. Yes, sir, that is the fellow that will soon do my 
business," And so it proved to be. 

During the battle of Princeton, Washington, it is said, 
pointed to the Seventeenth British Regiment, and ex- 
claimed, with a soldier's enthusiasm : " See those noble 
fellows fight ! Ah, gentlemen, when shall we be able to 
keep an army long enough together to display a discipline 
equal to our enemies ? " 



196 '^^^-- ^TORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

SCUFFLING FOR LIBERTY. 
1777. 

Washington marched to winter quarters in Morris- 
town, New Jersey, a few days after the battle of Prince- 
ton. He gave out his numbers to be twice as large as they 
were, so that the English might fear him, and guarded 
carefully against a surprise, lest they should take revenge 
on him for the surprises they had suffered. He kept 
up frequent skirmishes with the British, in order to drive 
them in close to the Jersey shore, where they could not 
get fresh provisions, and would be reduced to feeding 
their horses on the poor hay from the salt marshes. In 
these skirmishes the Americans were nearly always suc- 
cessful, taking prisoners and capturing baggage and 
horses. At one time in the month of January four hun- 
dred raw troops waded through a river up to their waists 
and charged the enemy. When the English sent out 
foraging parties they were sure to be harassed by the 
Americans, who gave them many a "smart brush," 
always killing more of the enemy than they lost them- 
selves, because of their skill with firearms. It was said 
afterward by the English that they purchased every load 
of forage and every article of food only at the price of 
blood. 



SCUFFLING FOR LIBERTY. 197 

Washington was much loved by his men. One of 
his aids called him " the honestest man that ever adorned 
human nature." One who saw him at this time said that 
his features were " manly and bold, his eyes of a bluish 
cast and very lively, his hair a deep brown, his face 
rather long and marked with smallpox, his complexion 
sunburnt." Trumbull, who afterward became a portrait 
painter, was one of his aids for a short time early in the 
war, and he said that Washington did not give the im- 
pression of coldness, but he seemed rather to be a thought- 
ful man. He was very considerate of others. He once 
stopped to dine at a house in New Jersey where there 
was a wounded officer who was much disturbed by noise. 
While at dinner Washington was very careful to speak in 
an undertone, and make no unnecessary sound. When 
he had gone into another room, however, his aids were 
not so thoughtful. Washington looked uneasy when he 
heard them speaking in a loud voice. He presently got 
up and went into the room, tiptoed across it, and, taking 
a book from the mantelpiece, went softly back. He did 
not say a word, but the young men took the hint and 
made no more noise. 

The time that Washington spent in winter quarters at 
Morristown was a time of great anxiety for him. His 
army was dwindling away, and new men were loath to 
leave their warm homes to join the army at this bitter 
season of the year. By the middle of March, while the 
English army, lying near him, was ten thousand strong, 
Washington had only four thousand men, one thousand 
of whom were being inoculated. He did not know how he 
should "be able to rub along" until the new army was 



198 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



raised. He was in constant dread lest the enemy should 
discover his weak state, and was very careful to keep 
secret the demands for men which he was sending to the 
different States. 

Warm weather came, and still the American army 
increased very slowly. For some time the English forces 




WASHINGTON'S CAMP ITEXSILS. 

[At the National Museum, Wasliington, D. C] 

numbered more than double those of the Americans. 
Washinsfton wondered verv much that Howe did not 
try to gain some advantage over him. But the enemy 
lay perfectly still. By the 28th of May, when Washing- 
ton had only seven thousand well men, he moved his 
army forward to Middlebrook, with the Raritan River in 
front of him, and threw up intrenchments. Howe 
marched out of Xew Brunswick on the 13th of June, and 
extended his line to Somerset Courthouse. Washington 
was uncertain whether the English general meant to try 
to bring him to battle or to march for the Delaware. He 
did not, indeed, care which he did, for he was in a very 
strong position at Middlebrook, and was willing to face 
Howe there, while he meant to attack him should he 



SCtJFPLlNG FOR LIBERTY. 199 

move toward the Delaware. It was the old game ; each 
general was trying to get the advantage of position. 
Howe did not wish to fight the Americans behind in- 
trenchments, and he did not care to march for the Dela- 
ware with the New Jersey militia rising in front and 
Washington in the rear. He suddenly retreated to Am- 
boy, leaving his works unfinished and burning houses as 
he went. He threw across to Staten Island a bridge of 
boats which he had no doubt meant to use in crossing the 
Delaware. Washington immediately sent out parties of 
men to annoy the English, and moved forward himself to 
Quibbletown, hoping to get some advantage over the 
retreating army. Howe was very anxious to bring the 
American general to a battle in the open field, where his 
greater numbers and better arms and discipline would 
insure him the advantage, so he moved back the men 
who had crossed the floating bridge in the night. In the 
morning he sent one column under Cornwallis to get 
around the Americans and gain the high grounds be- 
hind them, while two columns should attack them in 
front. A light party sent to watch the movements of the 
enemy brought Washington word of this manoeuvre, and 
he immediately fell back to his strong camp at Middle- 
brook. Howe then returned to his floating bridge, and 
soon moved his whole army over to Staten Island. 

Washington was puzzled to know what Howe intended 
to do next. He first supposed that the English would go 
around by water to attack Philadelphia, but when he 
heard that General Burgoyne was advancing down the 
lakes from Canada, he thought the English general must, 
in good policy, sail up the Hudson and attack the Amer- 



200 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

ican foi'ts in the Highlands, preparak)ry to joining Bur- 
goyne at Albany. There was also the possibility that he 
might sail north to Boston or sonth to Charleston. Mean- 
time Washington dared not leave New Jersey, lest the en- 
emy should suddenly pounce upon that State again, and 
so get to Philadelphia before he could march to the rescue. 
When the English ships moved away from the Jersey 
shore, however, Washington went to Morristown, leaving 
a small force behind him, and sending a portion of his 
army part of the way toward the Highlands, so that they 
could march on there or turn toward Philadelphia, ac- 
cording to the course that might be taken by the English 
vessels. 

There was a young American officer named Graydon, 
who had been captured in the unlucky defense of New 
York. His mother afterward made her way into the 
English lines, and by a great deal of perseverance secured 
Graydon's release on parole. The young man promised 
the other American officers, whom he left in captivity, to 
inform them as to how the American cause was prosper- 
ing by announcing the charms and beauty of a certain 
young lady in his letters, if all went well. He reached the 
American army at Morristown, where he presented him- 
self to the commander in chief. G-raydon thought that 
the army looked anything but prosperous, though Wash- 
ington and his staff seemed cheerful. He said that the 
American uniforms, which had once been blue and buff, 
were fast becoming buff alone ; while General Wayne, 
who had been used to be neatly dressed in a uniform of 
blue and white, now wore a dingy red coat, a rusty black 
cravat, and a tarnished laced hat. Wayne boasted gayly, 



SCUFFLING FOR LIBERTY. 



201 



however, that the Americans had thrown away the shovel 
and the British taken it up. As young Graydon con- 
tinued his journey to Philadelphia he was surprised to 
see no military parade, or any indication that the people 
intended to defend their country. " General Washing- 




washington's camp-chest used during the revolution. 

[At the National Museum, "Washington, D. C] 

ton," he said, " with the little remnant of his army at 
Morristown seemed left to scuffle for liberty " alone. He 
had not the heart, however, to discourage the officers in 
captivity, and assured them of the charms of the imagi- 
nary lady when he wrote. 



^02 'i'HE STORY OF WASHINGTO?^. 

Meantime all was uncertainty.- When Washington 
learned, through his spies, that the English were fitting 
up places for horses in their vessels, he thought that they 
must be going on a long voyage, and warned both Penn- 
sylvania and New England to be prepared for an invasion. 
But when he heard that Burgoyne was threatening Ticon- 
deroga with a large army, he felt certain that Howe must 
intend to attack the Highlands, and he sent General Sul- 
livan on to Peekskill, and moved his army to the northern 
part of New Jersey and to Ramapo, in New York. At one 
time he had his headquarters in an old log house, sleeping 
on the only bed, while his aids slept on the floor around 
him, and all lived contentedly on mush and milk. While 
Washington was at Ramapo, a young man who had been a 
prisoner in the English army came to him with a letter 
pretending to be from Howe to Burgoyne. In the letter 
Howe said that he was going to attack Boston. But 
Washington was not fooled, and suspected that this letter 
was meant to send him north, so that Howe might have a 
chance to reach Philadelphia before he did. When the 
English fleet finally fell down to Sandy Hook and sailed 
southwesterly, Washington marched toward that city. 
Signal fires were lighted along the Jersey coast as the 
ships were seen from time to time, but when they passed 
the Capes of Delaware all was doubt ouce more, and 
Washington turned his army back again. It w^as a time 
of great suspense in America. The people of Boston were 
greatly alarmed lest Howe should be coming to attack 
them, and many carted their household furniture away, 
paying sometimes as much as a hundred dollars a load, 
so great was the demand for transportation. 



SCUFFLI^'G FOR LIBERTY. 203 

While Washington was waiting anxiously for news of 
the. next English move he heard of the loss of Ticonder- 
oga. Though he knew that he should soon have Howe's 
powerful army to cope with, he sent re-enforcements to 
the north, and among them were Morgan's sharpshooters 
in their Indian dress. It was so long before Washing- 
ton heard anything of Howe's fleet that he concluded it 
had gone to Charleston. Since he could not reach that 
city in time to oppose an English army, he decided to 
move northward, and either attack New York or march on 
to oppose Burgoyne. He had no sooner come to this de- 
cision than he heard that the English fleet was already far 
up Chesapeake Bay, Howe having chosen this cautious 
way of approaching Philadelphia. The having a fleet at 
his command gave him a great advantage over Washing- 
ton, who had wasted the summer in uncertainty, when, 
could he have known Howe's destination, he would have 
intrenched himself in a strong camp and been ready to 
dispute the passage of the English army through Penn- 
sylvania, perhaps as successfully as he had disputed it 
through New Jersey earlier in the campaign. 



204 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



MAP SHOWING 

WHERE THE 

ENGLISH LANDED, 



CHAPTEK XXXIII. 

THE BATTLE OF THE BRAXDYWINE. 

General Howe landed his army on the shores of the 
Elk River, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, on the 25th 

of August, 1777. He had 
lost many of his horses on 
the long voyage, and he 
spent some time in gather- 
ing horses from the coun- 
try around. The 
people of Penn- 
sylvania met the 
invasion with very 
little spirit. Many 
of them were Quakers 
and Germans, and not 
many of the militia ral- 
lied to Washington's aid. 
To encourage the people, 
Washington marched through 
Philadelphia on his way to 
meet Howe. The American 
army, with its artillery and wag- 
_ ons, made a line of about nine or 




THE BATTLE OF THE BRANDYWINE. 205 

ten miles, and took two hours to march through the city 
at a " smart, lively step." The men wore sprigs of green 
in their hats to give them a uniform look, for uniform 
clothes they did not have. They were poorly clothed, in 
fact, and badly armed, some having no guns at all, and 
others little fowling pieces. Washington's forces amount- 
ed to about fifteen thousand men, though so many were 
ill for want of good clothing and proper food that there 
were only eleven thousand who were fit for duty. With 
this badly clothed and badly armed body of men Wash- 
ington was calmly marching out to oppose something 
like eighteen thousand of the best soldiers of Europe. 
Though Congress supported him only in the most feeble 
manner, and though the people of the country failed to 
rise to his aid, it was expected that the American general 
should defend Philadelphia, and he undertook to do it, 
though it was contrary to his prudent policy to risk the 
fortunes of the whole war in a single battle. 

The next day Washington was at Wilmington, and 
went out with horsemen to view the British lines from a 
distance. He sent small bodies of men to skirmish with 
the enemy and prevent them from getting horses and 
provisions. The Americans took seventy prisoners in 
these skirmishes in the course of a few days. Washing- 
ton threw his army in the way of Howe at Eedclay 
Creek. The British made their dispositions to get in 
his rear the next morning, but he moved in the night to 
Chad's Ford, on the Brandywine, directly in front of 
Howe's army. He also secured the other fords of this 
stream with bodies of men. 

On the 11th of September, 1777, seven thousand of the 



206 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

English army marched forward to attack the Americans 
at Chad's Ford, under the command of General Knyp- 
hausen. They attacked the American general, Maxwell, 
in command of a body of militia, and drove him across 
the river to the main army. They then cannonaded the 
Americans from the opposite side of the stream. The 
Americans crossed the river from time to time and en- 
gaged the enemy, but Knyphausen was only amusing them 
until Howe should have time to gain their rear. General 
Howe had moved up the Brandywine to a place beyond 
its forks, where, by crossing two streams and coming 
down again, he might flank the Americans. About 
twelve o'clock AVashington heard that there was a column 
of the enemy, which raised a great dust, trying to get in 
his rear. He boldly planned to cross the Brandywine 
and attack Knyphausen before Howe should have had 
time to reach his rear ; but just as he was about to carry 
out his scheme he got word that the movement of this 
column was only a feint. He then sent out scouts, 
which brought the news at two o'clock that Howe had 
crossed the forks of the Brandywine by going seventeen 
miles round, and was now coming in great force down 
upon his right. Washington immediately ordered the 
division of his army under General Sullivan, which lay 
nearest Howe's approach, to resist him. Sullivan formed 
hastily near a little meetinghouse, leaving a gap at first 
of half a mile between different bodies of his men, which 
he filled up so hurriedly as to throw the ranks into some 
confusion. The battle began about half past four. The 
firing was severe for some time. The right of the Ameri- 
can line, which had fallen into disorder in forming, was 



THE BATTLE OF THE BRANDYWINE. 



207 - 



the first to give way. This gave the enemy a chance to 
pour a galling fire in upon the flank of the American 
forces. Men kept breaking away from the right, and 
soon the whole line was confused and 
routed. The officers tried bravely to 
_^^ rally their men, but in vain. 



.^? 







MAP OF THE 
BATTLE OF THE BRANDYWINE. 



-~am advance. 
■»- + Cncj. cxdvctnce. 
. -■ am. rctreaC 



Washington pressed forward to the aid of the flying 
men. It was impossible to rally them, but he ordered up 
his reserve forces under Greene, to a place where they 
checked the pursuit. Meantime Knyphausen had 
crossed the Brandywine, fighting in earnest now. Gen- 
16 



208 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

eral Wayne, who commanded at Chad's Ford, held him in 
check until Sullivan was defeated on the right, when his 
forces fell back in good order. The road which led to 
the town of Chester was now choked with flying men, 
cannon, and baggage wagons, while the roar of the battle 
was still going on in the rear. ^N^ear Chester, Washing- 
ton and his officers succeeded in checking the flight. 
Greene's men defended the rear bravely and fell slowly 
back, fighting as they went. One of the ca2:)tains of the 
force which covered the retreat so well marched into 
Chester that night with his handkerchief tied to a ram- 
rod in place of a flag. 

Among the wounded in the battle of the Brandy wine 
was the Marquis de Lafayette. When this young man 
was scarcely nineteen he had insisted upon leaving 
France to join the Americans, though many of his rela- 
tions were opposed to his course, and he had to leave be- 
hind a young and beautiful wife. T-he' x\merican cause 
had few friends in France at this time, for news had 
come that Howe was carrying all before him, and that 
Washington was flying through New Jersey with but 
three thousand men, so that it was impossible for Lafa- 
yette to find a vessel bound for America in which he 
could embark. But taking for his motto '^ Cur 7i07i?^^ — 
that is, " Why not ? " — he bought a vessel with his own 
money and sailed for the New World. Arrived at Phila- 
delphia, he found that Congress was besieged by for- 
eign officers, to whom it was impossible to give places in 
the army in the rank they expected without displacing 
worthy Americans. But the young Frenchman sent in 
the following note : " After my sacrifices, I have the right 



THE BATTLE OF THE BRANDY WINE. 209 

to ask two favors — one is, to serve at my own expense ; 
the other, to begin by serving as a vohmteer." Such gen- 
erous terms could not be refused, and the young French- 
man was made a major-general. Soon after this he met 
Washington at a public dinner, the general having come 
to Philadelphia on business before the landing of General 
Howe. After dinner Washington took the young man 
aside and asked him to make headquarters his home. " I 
can not promise you the luxuries of a court," said he, 
" but as you have become an American soldier, you will 
doubtless accommodate yourself to the fare of an Ameri- 
can army." Lafayette fought in the battle of the Brandy- 
wine as a volunteer, without any command. Washing- 
ton, when he heard of his wound, sent this word to the 
surgeon, " Take care of him as though he were my son." 
From this time there was a warm friendship between La- 
fayette and Washington, who always showed a liking for 
promising young men. 

The Americans lost about one thousand men in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners at the battle of the Brandy- 
wine, and few were taken prisoners that were not w^ound- 
ed. The English lost between five and six hundred. 
Parts of the American army fought with a great deal of 
courage and spirit, while others behaved badly. This 
would naturally happen where there were so many men 
new to a soldier's life. A struggle between the English 
and the Americans in the open field at this time could 
hardly have ended in any other way, for the American 
army was smaller, not so well disciplined, and much 
worse armed than the British army. Washington could 
hardly have hoped for success. 



210 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXXIY. 

THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWX. 

1777. 

The day after the battle of the Brandy wine Washing- 
ton marched his army to Germantown, where he gave it 
two days for rest. He then crossed the Schuylkill again, 
where the water w^as nearly waist high, and boldly faced 
the enemy once more almost before they had left the field 
of the Brandywine. The advanced parties of the two 
armies were already skirmishing preparatory to battle 
when a heavy storm of rain came up and j)ut a stop to 
fighting. The rain damaged the Americans very badly, 
because the water got into their gunlocks and wet their 
cartridge boxes, which were flimsily made. They had 
very few bayonets, and there was nothing for them to 
do but to retreat. They marched all one day and most 
of the next night, in a heavy rain storm and over roads 
deep with mud. Washington, finding that his ammuni- 
tion w^as utterly ruined, was forced to cross the Schuylkill 
in search of a fresh supply. The army was all night cross- 
ing the river. The men were wet to the breast, the night 
air was cold, and they were suffering with hunger. Dur- 
ing these trying days they were often halted three times 
at night, and were ordered to move off again after having 
built their camp fires. Sometimes the men tried to shel- 



THE BATTLE OF GERiAIANTOWN. 211 

ter themselves from the rain by placing rails on a slant 
against a fence and sleeping under them on a few leaves. 

On crossing the Schuylkill, Washington left Wayne be- 
hind him with a small force of men to annoy the enemy. 
But Wayne was surprised in the night, at a place called 
Paoli, and only made his escape after losing three hun- 
dred men. 

Washington now tried to prevent Howe from crossing 
the Schuylkill. The English general, finding that the 
Americans had fortified the Swedes' Ford, on this river, 
marched up the stream. Washington kept pace with 
him on the opposite side of the river, lest Howe should 
cross the Schuylkill above, where it was shallow, and strike 
at his stores, which lay at Reading. Having drawn the 
American army up the river, Howe suddenly fell back in 
the night and crossed at Fatland and Gordon's fords, 
driving away the militia, who had been placed at these 
crossings for their defense. The English were soon far 
on the way to Philadelphia. They arrived at German- 
town, five miles above the city, on the 25th of September, 
and part of the army entered Philadelphia the next day. 

Washington would have made one more effort to inter- 
cept Howe before he reached Phihidelphia, but a thou- 
sand of his men were barefoot, and they had all been ex- 
posed night and day to hard marches under heavy rains, 
had forded rivers many times, and were almost without 
blankets, and often entirely without food. By the 3d of 
October, however, he had had some re-enforcements so 
that his army amounted again to about eleven thousand 
men. Howe had divided his forces. His main body was 
camped directly across the road which led through Ger- 



212 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



mantown, but some of his regiments were in Philadel- 
phia, and some were detached to act against a fort on 
the Delaware. Washington saw his chance to make an- 
other stroke at the enemy, which, if it were successful, 
might ruin Howe' army, separated as it was from the 
fleet. He planned the attack very ably. One division 

of the army was to enter Ger- 
mantown by the main road, an- 
other was to make a circuit and 
attack the enemy's right, while 
the militia were to attempt to 
get into the rear on the 
right and left. The Amer- 
ican army began moving at 
seven o'clock in the even- 
ing, and marched 
fourteen miles in 
the night. 
The morn- 
ing of the 
4th of 
October 



s 




>^ \\ 


\ .^ 


.^' ' 


\ ^"^ 




p^" 


'^11^ . 


i^ 




THE BATTLE OF GERMAKTOWN. 213 

was very dark and foggy. Two hours after sunrise the 
attack began. The Americans in front drove the Eng- 
lish advanced guard back on the infantry, and held the 
whole in check while General Sullivan formed his men 
in line of battle. They then came on, Wayne's men call- 
ing to each other to remember Paoli. They drove the 
English forces before them down the main street of Ger- 
mantown. General Howe rode up and tried to rally his 
men. 

" For shame, light infantry ! " cried he ; "I never saw 
you retreat before ! " 

But the light infantry did not heed, and fled on down 
the street, past a stone building known as Chew's house, 
until fresh troops arrived and checked the Americans. 
The American reserve, in which Washington was, now 
passed Chew's house. They were fired upon by six com- 
panies of English soldiers who had taken refuge in this 
strong stone building. The Americans attacked the house 
and tried to dislodge the enemy, but they did not succeed. 
Their cannon, being small, only pierced the walls without 
destroying them. A young French nobleman, known in 
America as Major Fleury, and a young American, Colonel 
Laurens, taking some daring fellows with them, attempted 
to set fire to the door of the house with some hay from 
the barn, which they carried there. Fleury was met at 
the window by an English officer with cocked pistols, who 
summoned him to surrender. An English soldier, who 
was also at the Avindow, struck at Fleury with the butt 
end of his musket, but he felled the English officer in- 
stead of the French. The two young men were now forced 
to retire, but Fleury, like a true Frenchman, would rather 



214 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

have died than appear ridiculous, amd declined to run. 
He escaped, however, unhurt. 

Meanwhile the battle went on. A soldier who was 
present said the sounds of musketry and cannon were like 
the " crackling of thorns under a pot and incessant peals 
of thunder." The second division of the army, under 
Greene, was three quarters of an hour late in attacking 
the enemy on the right, while the militia accomplished 
little or nothing. Nevertheless, the English were in dis- 
order and were almost routed. General Nash, who led 
the North Carolina men, was struck by a round shot, which 
had first hit a signpost, then glancing, broke his thigh, 
and went through his horse. He was thrown heavily to 
the ground, but he called out to his men : 

"Never mind me; I have had a devil of a tumble. 
Rush on, my boys, rush on to the enemy, and I'll be after 
you presently ! " 

Washington exposed himself in the thickest of the 
fight. General Sullivan and others begged him to retire 
for the sake of his country. To gratify his friends he 
rode back a short distance, but his anxiety for the fate of 
the day soon brought him to the front again, and there he 
stayed. 

The dense fog forced the Americans to be slower in 
their movements than they would otherwise have been, 
and prevented the officers from getting any general view 
of what was going on. It also caused some of the troops 
to mistake friends for the enemy in their rear, and retreat, 
leaving other parts exposed. At the moment when Wash- 
ington was sure of success his men began to fall back, 
and the best that he could do was to get them off in good 



THE BATTLE OP GERMANTOWN. 215 

order. The Americans carried off their wounded and 
their cannon. They were pursued for nearly five miles 
by the enemy, with whom Greene's division kept up a 
retreating fight, and Wayne finally 'drove them back by 
planting his cannon on a hill and firing upon them. 
Washington retreated about twenty miles, and, after rest- 
ing his men, pushed on toward Philadelphia once more, 
encamping at Whitemarsh. 

The American loss at the battle of Germantown 
amounted to nearly eleven hundred men, a number hav- 
ing been taken prisoners in the fog and confusion. The 
English losses in killed and wounded amounted to over 
five hundred. Each army lost a general, for, though 
Washington sent his family physician — Doctor Craik — to 
attend General Nash, he died after much suffering. An 
officer who was wounded in the arm at the battle of Ger- 
mantown tells how the surgeon cut off his shirt sleeve on 
the wounded arm because it was stiffened with blood. He 
then cut off the other shirt sleeve to use as bandages, and 
the wounded man was obliged to wear this sleeveless gar- 
ment for three weeks for want of another. So much did 
the Americans lack necessaries. 

Washington, who loved to do a courteous act, returned 
a dog to General Howe, two days after the battle of Ger- 
mantown, with the following note : " General Washing- 
ton's compliments to General Howe — does himself the 
pleasure to return him a dog which accidentally fell into 
his hands, and, by the inscription on the collar, appears 
to belong to General Howe." 

Though the battle of Germantown was not a victory, 
it was encouraging to America. " Our people will and do 



216 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

fight," said John Adams, "and although they make a 
ckimsy hand of it, yet tliey do better and better." The 
English also saw that the Americans could make " a de- 
termined attack and an orderly retreat," and gave uj^ the 
hope they had long entertained of totally routing them in 
the field. Thoughtful people in England observed with 
discouragement that with the Americans victory and de- 
feat seemed to produce much the same results. The 
French minister Vergennes had been cautiously watching 
the behavior and spirit of the Americans before he thought 
fit to engage openly in the quarrel. He was struck with 
the fact that Washington's had been the attacking force 
at Germantown. " To bring an army raised within a year 
to this, promises everything," said he. 



DEPENDING THE DELAWARE. 21 Y 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

DEFENDING THE DELAWARE. 

1777. 

The Americans had simk chevanx de frise^ made of 
heavy beams crossed and headed with iron points, at two 
places on the Delaware, and they had built forts near 
these obstructions to prevent the enemy's ships from 
passing them. General Howe was hemmed in between 
the American army, which lay at Whitemarsh, and the 
forts on the Delaware. His ships could not reach him, 
and Washington guarded the city with bodies of men to 
prevent Americans who wished to get English gold from 
carrying provisions into Philadelphia. General Howe 
must reduce the forts on the Delaware or give up the 
city because of starvation. Washington did all that he 
could to re-enforce and aid these forts, though he was very 
much hampered himself by the want of men and necessa- 
ries, and by the jealousy and bad management of Congress 
at this time. 

While the struggle for the Delaware was going on, 
Washington heard of the capture of Burgoyne's army at 
Saratoga. When the country had been deeply discour- 
aged by the loss of Ticonderog^, Washington had written 
to General Schuyler that he thought that Burgoyne's 
success would be his ruin. He said that if the English 



218 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



general would only act in detachments, the Americans, 
could they once succeed in cutting off one of these 
smaller bodies of men, would gain heart. It happened as 
Washington had foreseen. Burgoyne did act in detach- 
ments ; a portion of his army was defeated at Bennington, 



7orqe 



•ya^ 



,lJl)i.Rmars|j 

• germa-nCbujix 



J 



^louctitir 




MAP OF THE VICIXITV OF PHILADELPHIA. 



the people took courage, and soon rose in sucli numbers 
as to surround him as he attempted to push on toward 
Albany, while his supplies had to be brought from Lake 
George. There were two battles, and Burgoyne finally 
surrendered his whole army of between five and six thou- 
sand men. Washington rejoiced heartily at this lucky 
event, though he could not help wishing that the militia 
in the Middle States might have shown the spirit they 
had in the North, and come to his aid in trying to inter- 



DEFENDING THE DELAWARE. 219 

cept the much larger army of General Howe, but he 
added quickly that he did not mean to complain. He 
wrote to General Gates, who commanded the Northern 
army, begging him to hurry forward re-enforcements so 
that he might drive General Howe from Philadelphia. 
But Gates, who was an officer of foreign experience, like 
Lee, began to imagine himself a greater man than Wash- 
ington, and was very slow in doing this, so that the re-en- 
forcements only arrived after it was too late for them to 
be of any use. 

General Howe first sent a body of men to attack Bil- 
lingsport, a fortification intended to protect the chevaiix 
de frise lowest down the river. On the approach of the 
English, the American militia who manned this work 
spiked their cannon, set fire to their barracks, and de- 
camped. Howe now bent all his force to the reduction 
of the two forts which commanded the upper obstruc- 
tions — Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, on the shore of New 
Jersey, and Fort Mifflin, which stood on Mud Island, 
near the Pennsylvania side. Washington placed some of 
his best men and most determined officers in these works. 
The English succeeded, after a great deal of labor, in 
making a narrow passage for their ships through the 
lower obstructions at Billingsport. They then sailed up 
to Fort Mifflin and attacked it from the front and from 
Province Island. Fort Mifflin, which stood on Mud Is- 
land, was poorly built, mostly of palisades which could 
not resist cannon, and was defended by five hundred men, 
when it should have had fifteen hundred. But the gar- 
rison made up in courage for their lack of numbers. 
Once they sallied forth and attacked the English batteries 



220 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

on Province Island, capturing the two officers and sixty 
men who manned them. They also opened the beach in 
such a way that the water overflowed this island. 

Meantime Howe sent a body of Hessians, under Count 
Donop, across the Delaware to storm Fort Mercer. This 
work had a garrison of six hundred men, commanded by 
Colonel Christopher Greene. Before storming the fort, 
Count Donop sent an officer to demand, in the name of 
the King of England, that his rebel subjects should throw 
down their arms or receive no quarter when the fort 
should be taken. The Americans, angered by this mes- 
sage, answered that there should be no quarter on either 
side. Fort Mercer was defended by two rows of works 
and by an abatis made of trees pointed outward. The 
.Americans annoyed the Hessians from their outer works 
until the latter approached them, and then retired to their 
redoubt. The Hessians rushed over the first embank- 
ment, swung their caps in the air, crying " Victoria ! " 
and charged the redoubt. They were met by a murder- 
ous discharge of firearms and grapeshot. The ditches 
were nearly filled with the killed and wounded. The 
Hessians, however, pressed on and mounted the breast- 
works, but the Americans within clubbed them with the 
butts of their guns. The Hessians fell back, but the 
brave German officers rallied their men and pushed them 
forward to cut away the abatis, only to fall themselves 
among the branches of the trees of which it was made. 
In three quarters of an hour the fight was over, and the 
Hessians retired for the last time. It was now dark, and 
the Frenchman, Major Fleury, who was in Fort Mercer, 
issued out with some men to repair a part of the works. 



DEFENDING THE DELAWARE. 221 

He heard a voice from among the dead exclaim, "Who- 
ever you are, take me away from here." It was the voice 
of Count Donop, who was mortally wounded. The young 
Frenchman caused him to be carried to a house and cared 
for. The Hessian officer said, when he was dying : 

" This is ending early a noble career, but I die the 
victim of my ambition and the avarice of my sovereign." 
The German prince in whose service Donop was an officer 
had hired his troops to the English Government for 
money. 

The English lost over four hundred men in the at- 
tack on Fort Mercer. Meantime General Howe had 
gone slowly and surely to work to take the defenses of 
the Delaware. Batteries grew up on all sides, threatening 
Mud Island. The men in the fort did not waste time, 
but threw up w^orks inside their wooden walls, barricaded 
with barrels of earth, and dug " wolf-holes " without the 
fort. The day after the attempt on Fort Mercer, a num- 
ber of English ships sailed up to the chevaux de frise^ 
which was five hundred yards from Fort Mifflin, and 
opened fire on this post, and the English land batteries 
hoisted the bloody flag, to warn the garrison that there 
was to be no quarter. The cannon of the fort and the 
little American fleet of galleys joined in the battle. The 
Americans sent four great fire ships out to try to burn the 
British fleet. Part of the English army was drawn up on 
Province Island, the men ready to throw themselves into 
boats and storm the fort. A soldier who was present said 
that there never was a more solemn spectacle, and declared 
that the fort, which was the prize of the day, seemed to 
be " involved with fire." 



222 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

The battle lasted from nine in tile morning till noon. 
The men in the fort used red-hot balls, and one of these 
now chanced to fall on the Augusta, an English ship of 
sixty-four guns, and set her stern on fire. She was soon 
in a blaze, and before her crew could all be taken off she 
blew up " w^ith a thundering noise." A moment later, the 
Merlin ran ashore near the Augusta, took fire, and also 
blew up. The other British ships now retired below Hog 
Island, but the land batteries continued their firing till 
night, still flying the bloody flag. 

The English next built stronger batteries, and cut 
down a large Indiaman for a floating battery. These 
batteries and the English men-of-war played incessantly 
upon the devoted fort. The American cannon answered 
with a good deal of effect. Every night the garrison was 
relieved and fresh men sent in, and the damage done 
the works in the daytime was repaired as nearly as pos- 
sible. Presently, however, the earthworks were almost 
leveled to the ground, the barracks were destroyed, and 
the men, who waded in water knee deep in the daytime, 
must lie down in the mud to rest, for it rained a great 
deal. Washington wished the fort to be defended as long 
as possible ; but by the 15th of November the English 
ship Vigilant got into the inner channel, behind Hog 
Island, at high tide. She carried twenty twenty-four 
pounders. 

There was not a single gun on this side of Fort 
Mifflin, but Major Thayer, who was now in command of 
the post, his superior officer. Colonel Smith, having been 
wounded, ordered a thirty-two pounder to be carried to 
the spot. The Americans succeeded in striking the Vigi- 



DEFENDING THE DELx\WARE. 228 

lant with fourteen shots from this gun before she opened 
fire. But when she had once anchored, and her guns 
began to play, resistance was at an end. Three or four 
broadsides from the Vigilant destroyed parapets, gun car- 
riages, and even the guns themselves. Hand grenades 
were thrown into the American works, and men in the 
shrouds picked off those who tried to mount the i^latform 
inside the fort to return the fire. By this time the works 
were pretty nearly beaten down, the cannon were dis- 
mounted, and the enemy was planning to storm the fort. 
The Americans retired in the night to Fort Mercer, across 
the river, burning what was left of the platform and bar- 
racks in the fort before they retired. When the English 
marched in half an hour later, they found that many of 
the cannon of the abandoned fort were stained with blood. 
The defense of Fort Mifflin gave Americans a reputation 
for courage. General Howe at length sent Cornwallis 
across the river to reduce Fort Mercer, the only defense 
left on the Delaware. Washington sent Greene to oppose 
Cornwallis, but the garrison of the fort had already retired 
before the approaching English army. 

The brave defense of the Delaware gave the Americans 
much hope, while John Adams rejoiced that the glory of 
it was not due to Washington, though, indeed, he was the 
directing spirit of the whole affair. "Now," wrote 
Adams, " we can allow that a certain citizen is wise, vir- 
tuous, and good without thinking him a savior." This 
serves to show how much the commander in chief was 
already admired by the people, while there were those in 
Congress who had put Washington in power but were 
now jealous of his popularity. 



224 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

ALMOST A BATTLE. 

1111. 

There lived in Philadelj)hia a Quaker woman 
named Lydia Darrah. Some of the English officers 
chose a room in her house as a place in which to meet for 
private business. One evening the adjutant general took 
pains to tell Mrs. Darrah that he and the other English 
officers would be there until late, and that he wished her 
and her family to go to bed early. He promised to call 
her up to let them out, and to put out the fire and the 
candles. Lydia sent all her family to bed early, but she 
was possessed by curiosity to know why the officer was so 
eager to get her out of the way. She accordingly listened 
at the keyhole of the room where the English officers 
were assembled, and heard an order read for the British 
army to march out of Philadelphia in the night, two days 
later, and surprise Washington at Whitemarsh. Lydia 
Darrah then went to bed. When the adjutant general 
came and knocked at her door, she took care not to an- 
swer him until he had knocked three times. She then 
got up and let him out. The good Quaker woman was 
very much troubled by her secret, but she did not tell it 
even to her husband. The next day, however, she an- 
nounced that she was out of flour, and was going to the 



ALMOST A BATTLE. 225 

mill at Frankfort to get some. Her husband advised her 
to take a servant with her, but she refused to do this. 
She went to General Howe and asked for a pass, so that 
she might go out of the city and get some flour for her 
family. She got her pass, and, taking a bag with her, she 
went to Frankfort. She left her bag at the mill to be 
filled and hurried on toward the American lines. She 
soon met an American officer, who with a party of light- 
horse was out looking for information. He asked the 
Quaker woman where she was going. She said that she 
was looking for her son, who was in the American army, 
and asked the officer to dismount and walk with her. He 
got off his horse and ordered his men to keep in sight. 
Lydia Darrah first made him promise never to let any 
one know that she had told him anything, for the good 
woman imagined that her life was at stake. She then 
told what she had overheard the night before. The officer 
took her to a house near by, told a woman to give her 
something to eat, and hurried on to Washington's head- 
quarters. 

When Washington learned that the English army was 
coming to attack him, he recalled General Greene, who 
was in New Jersey with a part of the army, and pre- 
pared for battle. On the night of the 4th of December 
the English army marched out and took possession of a 
row of hills opposite the Whitemarsh hills where the 
xAmerican army was encamped. Washington was in a 
very strong position on the hilltops, where he had thrown 
up intrenchments, planted abatis, and was protected by 
woods. He had his heavy baggage all ready to be moved 
off in case he was forced to retire, and he rode uji and 



226 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

down his lines encouraging the men and officers to do 
their best. Although his forces were much reduced by 
want of clothing and by sickness, he wished for a battle 
and thought that he could defeat the enemy. The Eng- 
lish manoeuvred for four days trying to find a w^eak spot 
in the American position. At night the hills around 
AVhitemarsh shone with the camp fires of two armies. 
There was some skirmishing, in which the English lost 
over eighty men, while the Americans lost only tw^enty- 
seven. Suddenly the enemy filed off for Philadelphia. 
General Howe must have been very certain that he could 
not conquer AVashington at Whitemarsh, for he had 
boasted before he marched out that he would drive the 
American army over the mountains. 

Lydia Darrah, in Philadelphia, saw the English army 
return, but dared not ask what had happened. The next 
night the adjutant general came to her house and asked 
her to come and see him in his room. The good woman 
followed him, very much frightened. He asked whether 
any of her family had been up the last night he was there. 
She answered that they had all gone to bed at eight 
o'clock. 

" I know you were asleep," said he, " for I knocked at 
your chamber door three times before you heard me. I 
am entirely at a loss to imagine who gave AYashington 
information of our intended attack, unless the walls of the 
house could speak. AYhen we arrived near Whitemarsh 
we found all their cannon mounted and the troops pre- 
pared to receive us ; and we have marched back like a 
parcel of fools." 

Before Washington had learned that Howe was com- 



ALMOST A BATTLE. 227 

ing out to attack him, some of his officers and some mem- 
bers of Congress wished him to attack the English army 
in Philadelphia. As his army was no larger than Howe's, 
and as the English general was behind very strong works, 
and protected on three sides by the Delaware and Schuyl- 
kill rivers, in which the English fleet lay at anchor, the 
wiser men among the American officers thought that the 
army ought not to be risked in so doubtful an attempt. 
There were, however, many people who could not know 
Washington's difficulties, and who did not understand why 
he should not be so successful as Gates had been. " Next 
to being strong it is best to be thought so," said Washing- 
ton, and he exaggerated his numbers and carefully con- 
cealed all his difficulties from friends as well as foes as 
much as possible. 

America was suffering much from the war at this 
time, and Congress was becoming more and more help- 
less because it had not the power to tax people, while the 
paper money, which had been made in large quantities, 
had become almost worthless for the reason that there 
was too much of it and it was not redeemed in gold. One 
English army had been captured in 1777, while another 
had spent the entire campaign in taking one city. As 
Franklin said, Philadelphia had taken Howe, instead of 
Howe's taking Philadelphia. But though the affairs of 
America were really in a more hopeful state, her suffer- 
ings were greater. Just now Washington was racking 
his brain to try to provide shoes for his men, who had 
worn our their foot gear in the hard marches of the cam- 
paign and were wretchedly barefoot. While he was in 
Whitemarsh he offered a reward for the best substitute 



228 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

for shoes made out of rawhide. It is not known whether 
any such substitute was ever found. 

It was perhaps during the trying days, in which every 
effort was being made for the defense of Philadelphia, 
that Washington once ordered an officer to cross a river 
and reconnoiter, that he might have the latest informa- 
tion of the enemy's position and forces. The man was 
gone some time while the anxious general awaited his re- 
turn impatiently. When he appeared he annouuced that 
the night was dark, the river full of floating ice, and he 
had been unable to get across. Washington picked up a 
lead inkstand, threw it at the man's head, and shouted, 
"Be off, and send me a man !" The officer immediately 
went out, crossed the river, and got the information. 



VALLEY FORGE. ^29 



CHAPTER XXXVIL 

VALLEY FORGE. 

1111-1118. 

It had become very cold, and bleak hilltops were not 
a comfortable resting place. It was necessary to get the 
men covered in some way from the weather, for they not 
only lacked shoes, but stockings, blankets, and even 
breeches were wanting. Washington chose Valley Forge 
as winter quarters for most of his army, because it 
was only twenty-one miles from Philadelphia, and he 
might watch the enemy there from his winter camp. 
The valley was protected on one side by the Schuylkill 
River, on the other by hills, and it was covered with 
woods. The men marched to their winter camp on the 
19th of December, leaving bloody tracks behind them on 
the snow. Experienced frontiersman that he was, Wash- 
ington planned to winter his men in log huts. These 
cabins were to be made according to his directions, the 
chinks filled with mud, and the fireplaces made of wood 
thickly daubed with clay. The general offered a reward 
of twelve dollars to the party of men in each regiment 
that should build a good hut in the shortest time. He 
made his soldiers a speech, in which he told them that he 
would share their hardships, and he slept in his marquee 
or tent until they had cut down the trees and made a 



230 



THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 






town of log cabins. Washington tlien made his head- 
quarters in the house of Isaac Potts, a Quaker preacher. 
The house was built of stone, but it was very small, and 
the general had only one room for his use. In a wide 
window sill in this room he contrived a secret trap door, 
under which he kept his papers. 

The winter at Valley Forge was the hardest time of 
the whole war for Washington and his men. The com- 
missary department which supplied the army with food 

was managed so 
badly that a 
number of times 
during the win- 
ter the men 
were on the 
point of starv- 
ing. Washing- 
ton said, too, 
that the sick 
were naked and 
the well were 
naked. Many 
soldiers had to 
be quartered in the farm-houses about for want of shoes. 
Men borrowed each other's clothes when they went on 
duty, and it was a joke in the arm.y that the officers had 
but one dress suit, which they wore alternately when 
they were invited to dine at headquarters. Horses were 
so scarce that the American soldiers made small light 
wagons and drew their own wood and provisions, when 
they had any. There was a scarcity of straw, and the 




VIEW OF VALLEY FORGE HEADQUARTERS, WITH THE 
CAMP GROUND IN THE DISTANCE. 



VALLEY FORGE. 231 

poor fellows had to sleep on the damp earth in their 
huts, while those who had no blankets sat by the fire all 
night. Sometimes Washington's men were so near star- 
vation that he was forced to send officers through the 
country to force the farmers to sell their produce to the 
army whether they wished or not. Congress had given 
him a right to do this, but Washington did not like to 
exercise this right, for he thought it unjust, and feared 
that it would make the people feel that the army was 
oppressing them. Toward the end of the winter he suc- 
ceeded in getting droves of fat beeves from the New Eng- 
land States, and the men no longer suffered hunger. 

Early in February of 1778 Mrs. Washington arrived 
at Valley Forge. She is said to have come in a rough 
farm sleigh, which she had hired from an innkeeper at 
the forks of the Brandywine, where the snow had proved 
so deep that she was forced to leave her coach behind.* 
The general had sent one of his aids to meet her. It 
was about a year and a half since Washington and his 
wife had met, for the general had been in too doubtful a 
situation the winter before, in New Jersey, to send for his 
wife. She thought that her husband looked "much 
worn with fatigue and anxiety." " I never knew him to 
be so anxious as now," said she. She thought the little 
room at Isaac Potts's house very small, but Washington 

* Lossing represents Mrs. Washington as having arrived thus at 
Whitemarsh and ridden behind Washington on his horse to Valley 
Forge; but Washington's letters show that she did not join him 
until the date given above. It seems quite probable that she ar- 
rived in the sleigh, as Lossing states, but not at the early date he 
gives. 



232 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



made himself and his family more comfortable by build- 
ing a log cabin adjoining the house for a dining-room. 

Lady Washington, as the plump little woman in ker- 
chief and homespun was fondly called in the army, soon 
set about making herself useful. Every day she invited 
the other officers' wives to help her knit stockings, patch 
clothes, and make shirts for the men. Whenever the 




Washington's office at valley forge. 



weather was pleasant she set out, accompanied by a stout 
girl of sixteen to carry her basket, and visited the log 
cabins, looking for the most needy men. " I never in my 
life knew a woman so busy," the girl said many years 
after. 

While Washington's army was in winter quarters at 
Valley Forge, Baron Steuben, an officer who had been 
aid-de-camp to Frederick the Great, was appointed to 



VALLEY FORGE. 233 

the office of inspector general. He found the army he 
had undertaken to drill in a deplorable state. " The 
arms," said he, " were in a horrible condition, covered 
with rust, half of them without bayonets, many of them 
from which a single shot could not be fired. The 
pouches were quite as bad as the arms. A great many of 
the men had tin boxes instead of pouches, others had 
cow horns, and muskets, carbines, fowling pieces, and 
rifles were to be seen in the same company. The descrip- 
tion of the dress is most easily given. The men were liter- 
ally naked, some of them in the fullest extent of the word. 
The officers who had coats had them of every color and 
make. I saw officers at a grand parade at Valley Forge 
mounting guard in a sort of dressing gown made of an 
old blanket or woolen bed cover." The baron went 
heartily to work to discipline this motley crew. Often he 
lost all patience and swore at the men both in French 
and German. A young Captain Walker, who understood 
French, offered his services to Steuben to translate his 
commands for him. The baron received him as though 
he had been " an angel from heaven." When he had ex- 
hausted his own tongues he would call for Walker, saying, 
" I can curse dem no more." The good baron had 
brought a French cook with him from Paris, in order 
that he might' be sure of comfort in camp. When he 
reached Valley Forge the Americans assigned a wagoner 
to him for his use. Beef and bread were furnished by 
the commissaries, and the French cook looked about him 
for cooking utensils, but could find none. He asked the 
wagoner what was to be done. 

" We cook our meat," said the American, " by hanging 



234 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

it up by a string and turning it before a good fire till it 
is roasted." 

The Paris cook was evidently unhappy. He gave 
many shrugs and heavy sighs, and now and then used an 
oath. At last he went to Steuben and wished to be dis- 
missed. 

" Under happier circumstances, mon general^^ said he, 
" it would be my ambition to serve you, but here I have 
no chance of showing my talents, and I think myself 
obliged in honor to save you expense, since your wagoner 
is just as able to turn the string as I am." 

Though life was hard at Valley Forge, it was not with- 
out its pleasures. Gentlemen even in bed-blanket coats 
could find amusements. It is said that AVashington once 
stood leaning on a fence watching a game of fives which 
was played by some of his officers. The players stopped 
when they saw who was observing them, and, though Wash- 
ington begged them to go on, telling them that he had 
been used to play at the game himself, their respect for 
him was too great. Seeing that he had spoiled the fun, 
he moved away. 

The whole of Washington's forces were not stationed 
at Valley Forge. Smaller bodies of men were placed 
where they could prevent the country people from fur- 
nishing fresh provisions to the English in Philadelphia 
in exchange for much-coveted gold. But the govern- 
ment of Pennsylvania was not pleased that the American 
army had gone into winter quarters instead of besieging 
Howe. Members of the Pennsylvania Legislature seemed 
to think, said Washington, that his soldiers were " stocks 
and stones." " It was much easier," said he, " to write 




WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE. 

[From a painting made during the winter there, by C. W. Peale.] 



VALLEY FORGE. 235 

remonstrances in a comfortable room by a good fireside, 
than to occupy a cold, bleak hill, and sleep under frost 
and snow without clothes and blankets." To add to his 
other troubles, there was a cabal formed against Wash- 
ington about this time by some officers who were jealous 
of him, and who had some secret plans for putting Gen- 
eral Gates in his place. Gates was very popular just 
now, because he had been lucky enough to have been 
put in command of the northern army just at the mo- 
ment of success, after Schuyler had done all the hard 
work. He was a vain man, and easily imagined himself 
greater than his chief. One of Gates's aids, when he 
had been drinking too freely of wine one day, told how 
General Conway, who belonged to this cabal, had written 
Gates, saying, " Heaven has been determined to save your 
country, or a weak general and bad counselors would 
have ruined it." Lord Sterling sent this sentence in a 
letter to Washington, and Washington sent it to Conway 
without another word. To be discovered in this way 
worried the members of the cabal, and they spent a good 
deal of time first in denying the sentence and then in ex- 
cusing themselves. Some of the members of Congress, 
who were also discontented with Washington, were influ- 
enced by these men to appoint a board of war, with Gates 
and Mifflin on it. They then made a plan to get the 
Marnuis de Lafayette away from Washington by appoint- 
ing him to command a winter expedition to Canada. 
Washington advised Lafayette to accept the appointment, 
but the young nobleman took care to show Gates and his 
party that he was devoted to the commander in chief by 
giving his name as a toast at a dinner given by these 



236 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON, 

schemers. Lafayette went to Albany and found no army 
to command. Conway, who was an Irishman in the 
American service, resigned, and was surprised when his 
resignation was accepted. He afterward quarreled with 
another officer, fought a duel, was wounded, and, thinking 
himself about to die, wrote a letter to Washington in 
which he expressed sorrow for having given him pain. 
" You are, in my eyes," said he, " the great and good 
man." Conway recovered and went to France. Gates, 
after making himself in every way disagreeable to Wash- 
ington, took the command of the southern army at a later 
period, and was totally defeated, showed cowardice, and 
ruined his reputation. Thus this plot against Washing- 
ton ended, though not until it must have given him much 
pain and anxiety. But he was very jiatient. He said 
freemen had a right to censure a man in his station, and 
he did what he could to keep the matter from becoming 
public, lest the enemy should be encouraged by the knowl- 
edge that there were quarrels among the American leaders. 



HOWE LAYS A TRAP FOR LAFAYETTE. 237 



CHAPTER XXXVIIL 

HOWE LAYS A TEAP FOR LAFAYETTE. 

1778. 

The English Government, finding that France was 
likely to take part with the United States, passed some 
laws which gave the Americans about what they had 
claimed at the beginning of the war. But the American 
people were in a very different temper by this time. 
Washington said that " nothing short of independence" 
could "possibly do." Soon after this France publicly 
acknowledged American independence, and this was 
equivalent to a declaration of war between France and 
England. There was great rejoicing among the patient 
soldiers at Valley Forge when Washington announced 
this event, on the 6th of May, 1778. Thirteen cannon 
were fired, and there was a running fire of musketry 
along the whole line of the American army, and the shout 
of " Long live the. King of France ! " After these cere- 
monies the men huzzaed for the friendly European pow- 
ers and for their own States. A banquet was set out of 
doors; Washington and his officers dined in public and 
toasts were given in honor of the occasion, and heartily 
cheered. At five o'clock Washington retired amid clap- 
pings and cheerings. The general turned around with 
his retinue several times and huzzaed. The men tossed 
18 



238 



THE STOKY OF WASHINGTON. 



their hats in the air and shouted until lie was half a mile 
away. Never had there been so joyful a day in the 
American army. 

In England, it was decided that the English army 
must give up Philadelphia, which had cost them such a 
struggle, for the reason that a French fleet might easily 
shut the British up in this town. General Howe had 
asked to be recalled. Before he left his officers gave a 
grand entertainment in his honor, which they called the 
Mischianza, in which they did hom- 
their commander as to 
the greatest of conquerors. 
There was first a water 
ia and tlien 
a tournament, 
at which the 
young officers 




/emors 



of the Eng 

were dressed 

Knights 

Blended 

Knights 

Mountain, fought for the 

favors in the turbans of Philadelphia belles who were 

dressed as Turkish princesses. There was a ball in a 

room decorated with blue, gold, and pink, and adorned 

with eighty-five mirrors borrowed from the people of the 

city. Last of all, there was a gaming table, fireworks, 

and a banquet, set with four hundred and thirty covers 

and twelve hundred dishes. 



HOWE LAYS A TRAP FOR LAFAYETTE. 239 

While the English army was reveling, Washington 
sent Lafayette, with twenty-five hundred men, across the 
Schuylkill to take possession of Barren Hill and watch the 
enemy, for he suspected that they were about to evacuate 
Philadelphia. The following day Howe heard of Lafay- 
ette's position. He immediately laid a plan to trap the 
young Frenchman, and he was so sure of succeeding, 
that, before leaving Philadelphia, he invited some ladies 
to dine with the young marquis the next evening. The 
English army marched out in three divisions, one of 
which was to gain Lafayette's rear, according to Howe's 
favorite stratagem. The marquis was fairly caught, for 
the militia who were to guard the roads behind him 
failed to warn him. Across the river Washington and 
his ofiicers fired alarm guns to warn Lafayette. Mat- 
son's Ford was the only road left open for retreat, and 
one column of the English army was nearer that than 
the Americans. Lafayette, however, sent parties of men 
out through the woods. These kept up a show of oppo- 
sition, while the marquis quickly withdrew his troops 
across the ford. In one place a body of Indians who were 
with him lay in ambush. A party of English dragoons fell 
upon them unawares. Both dragoons and Indians were 
equally terrified at each other's appearance, and they flew 
in opposite directions as fast as possible, the red men 
swimming the Schuylkill for safety. At length the three 
columns of the English army closed in from different 
sides upon Barren Hill, expecting to take Lafayette. But 
they found themselves facing one another. General Howe 
was late to supper that night, and he did not bring Lafay- 
ette with him for the amusement of the ladies. 



240 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTEK XXXIX. 

THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 

1778. 

A MAN named George Roberts galloped into camp at 
Valley Forge, on the 18th of June, 1778, with the news 
that the enemy had left Philadelphia. He said that he 
had been to the place where the English had destroyed 
the bridge across the Schuylkill, and that the townspeople 
had shouted to him that the English were gone. They 
had, indeed, crossed the Delaware, and were hurrying 
through New Jersey toward New York, dragging with 
them a baggage train twelve miles long, in which was 
much plunder. Washington had been expecting this for 
some time, and had part of his forces advanced toward the 
Delaware. He immediately set out in pursuit of the en- 
emy. He was escorted — as a young girl records in her 
diary — by fifty of the life guard with drawn swords. 

General Lee was now with the American army, and 
was second in command. There had been some danger 
when he Avas first captured that he would be executed as 
a deserter from the English army, and he was ordered to 
England for trial ; but Washington immediately set aside 
some Hessian officers who were his prisoners, and let the 
English understand that they should be treated exactly as 
General Lee was. The difficulty about Lee's treatment 



THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 241 

caused a long delay in the exchange of prisoners between 
the two armies. The Americans had finally captured an 
English general in a daring adventure at Newport, and 
Lee was exchanged for him. The American army was 
drawn up in honor of Lee's return, and Washington, with 
a suite of the highest officers, had ridden out to meet him, 
the commander in chief dismounting and welcoming him 
like a brother. But Lee soon afterward ungraciously re- 
marked that " Washington was not fit to command a ser- 
geant's guard." No one, however, knew that Lee was 
actually a traitor to the American cause, and had laid 
plans for the British to capture Philadelphia while he was 
their prisoner. The English officers, in fact, after some 
experience with Lee, seem to have concluded that he was 
"' the worst present" they could make to their enemies. 
He now began to hamper Washington by insisting that 
the Americans could not hope to gain a victory over the 
English, and that, for his part, he would build a bridge of 
gold to aid them in reaching New York. Far from doing 
this, however, Washington sent bodies of militia ahead of 
the enemy to break bridges and fill up wells, for the weath- 
er was very hot and water was a necessity. He pushed 
on as rapidly as he could toward the retreating army, and 
sent a detachment ahead to annoy the enemy if possible. 
Lee had the right to command this body of men, but he 
refused to do so, and Lafayette was sent in his stead. Lee 
then claimed his right, and Washington, to avoid difficulty 
with this troublesome " Boiling Water," as the Indians 
called him, sent Lee to join Lafayette with re-enforce- 
ments, so that the command would fall to him as the 
superior officer. Lafayette yielded gracefully to the older 



242 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

man the command of a body of men which now amounted 
to six thousand. 

When Sir Henry Clinton, who was now the command- 
ing general in the English army, found that the Amer- 
icans were near, he sent his baggage ahead to protect it 
from the pursuers, and placed his best troops in the rear, 
where the fighting was likely to be. The advance of the 
Americans under Lee and Lafayette overtook him in the 
county of Monmouth, as he was pushing forward to get 
to Sandy Hook. The English general encamped for the 
night of the 27th of June on some high ground near 
Monmouth Courthouse, where he was well protected by 
woods and a marsh. 

Washington was eager to strike a blow at the enemy 
before they should reach the heights about Middletown, 
where it would be impossible to assail them with any hope 
of success. He accordingly ordered Lee to attack the 
English as soon as they should begin to march. The 
Americans lay on their arms all night. About five o'clock 
on the morning of the 28th of June, 1778, news came that 
the enemy was moving. It was a very still, hot Sunday 
morning. Lee's orders were to surround the rear body of 
the English army and so capture them. He wasted much 
time, however, in reconnoitering, and gave Clinton a 
chance to draw up his best forces in order of battle. He 
gave contradictory orders, and seemed half-hearted from 
the first. Lafayette begged to be allowed to try to gain 
the rear of a division of the enemy now moving forward 
to the attack. 

" Sir," said Lee, " you do not know British soldiers ; 
we can not stand against them." 



THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 



243 



Lafayette answered that British soldiers had been 
beaten before and could be beaten again, and sent a mes- 
senger to Washington to tell him that he was needed at 
the front. When a portion of his troops mistook orders 
and began to retire, Lee ordered a retreat. Pursued by 
the enemy, the Americans were demoralized, they hardly 
knew why. They pressed across a marsh in their rear, 
-;>> where some were drowned and others were 
trampled to death. Meantime Washing- 
ton, when he first heard that the Brit- 
^^A ::; ish were on the move, pushed his men 
%J^%a^l^"l^°'^ forward, ordering them to 
>t'\\ "-errcat tlirow ofE tliclr packs and 
!'-V>/* blankets so that they might 

march the quicker in the 







-'L:Cf 






--^-^c 






^ intense heat. He had 

--.••..<» ^«»y 00 pears 
:>?./ ^, •■.hire hut 



J^^_9 f^'- -l^.^ir''^ ^ »nain army 



MAP OF THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 



VTTLE OF MONMOUTH. * '^^m*^^P''^*^^^<^ 

only heard a few cannon shots at the front, ^-' 
and did not suppose that Lee would retreat u,hf>n ise app^r- 
without giving battle. He and his officers were presently 
met by a little fifer boy, who said : 

" They are all coming this way, your honor." 
" Who are coming, my little man ? " asked General 
Knox. 

" Why, our boys, your honor — our boys, and the British 
right after them." 



244 THE STOHY OF WASHINGTON. 

" Impossible ! " exclaimed Washington, and he instant- 
ly put spurs to his horse. He soon met the retreating 
men. He then fell into one of his towering passions — 
very rare, but all the more terrible. 

" What is the meaning of all this, sir ? " he demanded 
of Lee. 

Lee hesitated. 

" I desire to know the meaning of this disorder and 
confusion ! " cried Washington. 

" Our troops can not stand the charge of the British 
grenadiers," answered Lee. 

" By God, sir, they can, and they shall ! " answered the 
commanding general. There were a few more angry words, 
and Washington called Lee a " poltroon " with a very 
forcible oath, and rode on to rally the men. He formed a 
portion of them in the face of the enemy, and then, turn- 
ing to Lee, said : 

" Will you retain the command on this height, or not? 
If you will, I will return to the main body and have it 
formed on the next height." 

" It is indifferent to me where I command," answered 
Lee. 

" I expect you will take the proper means for checking 
the enemy," said Washington. 

" Your orders shall be obeyed," replied Lee, " and I 
shall not be the first to leave the field." 

Washington hurried back to the main army and drew 
up his men on the high grounds near the marsh. The 
soldiers under Lee fought bravely until they were charged 
by cavalry and by infantry at the point of the bayonet. 
They then fell back, and Lee brought them off in good 



THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 245 

order. Washington ordered them to form in the rear, 
while fresh men should take up the battle. There was 
some hard fighting now. When the English attacked the 
Americans in front they were warmly received. They 
tried to turn the American left flank, and failed ; they 
then fell upon their right, and were driven back. The 
Americans gained much this day from careful drilling of 
Baron Steuben at Valley Forge. They wheeled into line 
while they were hard pressed by the enemy as coolly as 
though they were on parade. Washington was in the 
thickest of the fight. As Hamilton said, he did not hug 
himself at a distance, and his courage made his officers 
love him more dearly than ever. The white charger 
which he rode during the first part of the day died from 
the heat. He then mounted a chestnut Arabian horse, 
which his man Billy led up. He galloped along the lines, 
shouting : 

" Stand fast, my boys, and receive your enemy ; the 
Southern troops are advancing to support you ! " 

Toward sunset the English fell back behind a ravine, 
where they were protected by woods and marshes. Wash- 
ington pushed on, bent upon attacking them once more, 
but their position was hard to reach, and it was night be- 
fore the Americans could get to where they could renew 
the fight. Washington ordered the men to sleep on their 
arms, that they might be ready for battle the next day. 
He and Lafayette lay down on the same mantle, and 
talked long of the bad behavior of Lee. During the 
night an officer approached Washington cautiously. He 
had something to say, but he did not wish to disturb the 
general's rest. 



246 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

" Advance, sir," said the commander in chief, " and de- 
Hver your errand. I lie here to think, and not to sleep." 

During the night the English army silently marched 
away. By morning they were well on their way to high 
grounds, where it would be useless to attack them, and 
Washington was forced to give up his hope of renewing 
the battle. The Americans lost over two hundred in 
killed and wounded at the battle of Monmouth, while the 
English lost more' than four hundred. There were also a 
number of men on both sides who died of the heat. In 
addition to this, the English general, Clinton, lost over 
eight hundred men by desertion as he retreated through 
New Jersey. Many of the deserters were Germans, who 
had either married or engaged themselves to German girls 
in Philadelphia during the winter, and went back to their 
sweethearts. 

It is said that, before the battle of Monmouth a num- 
ber of Washington's officers talked of drawing up a paper, 
begging him not to expose himself in battle. Dr. Craik, 
his old family physician, who had been with him in his 
young days in the French war, told them that such a 
paper " would not weigh a feather " with the general. 
He told how the old Indian, on his journey down the 
Ohio, had predicted that Washington could not be shot. 
During the battle, when the commander in chief was re- 
connoitering with some of his officers, a round shot struck 
the ground near him, and threw the earth all over him 
and his horse. 

" Dat wash very near ! " remarked Baron Steuben ; and 
Craik nodded to the other officers, to show that he believed 
in the Indian's prediction. 



THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. ^47 

At another time, during the battle of Monmonth, 
Washington's body servant, Billy, who carried the gen- 
eral's field glass, got together a number of other valets as 
a suite, and, riding to a hill where there was a large syca- 
more, began to reconnoiter with the glass as he had seen 
his master and staff do. 

" See those fellows collecting on yonder height," said 
Washington to the officers who stood near him. " The 
enemy will fire on them to a certainty." 

And so it happened. Some English gunner soon sent 
a cannon ball crashing through the tree under which he 
saw, as he thought, a body of American officers. The 
darkies scampered, and Washington laughed. 

During the day a sturdy young Irish woman with a 
freckled face was busy carrying water to her husband, 
who was an artilleryman. The fellow was shot, and the 
piece was ordered to be withdrawn, since there was no 
one to serve it. But Molly dropped her bucket, seized 
the rammer, and filled the place of her dead husband 
while the battle lasted. 

The next morning General Greene presented the 
young woman, covered with dirt and blood, to Washing- 
ton. She was rewarded with a sergeant's commission and 
put on the list of half-pay officers. After this, Captain 
Molly, as she was called, sometimes acted as a servant at 
headquarters, dressed in an artilleryman's coat and cocked 
hat. One day, when she was washing clothes, Washing- 
ton said to her : 

" Well, Captain Molly, are you not almost tired of this 
quiet way of life, and longing to be once more in the field 
of battle?" 



248 THE STORY OP WASHJNGTON. 

" Troth, your excellency, and ye may say that," an- 
swered Molly, " for I care not how soon I have another 
slap at them redcoats, bad luck to them I " 

" But what is to become of your petticoats in such an 
event. Captain Molly?" 

" Oh, long life to your excellency, and never do ye 
mind them at all, at all. Sure, it's only in the artillery 
your honor's excellency knows that I would sarve, and 
divil a fear but the smoke of the cannon would hide my 
petticoats." 

Lee was much vexed with Washington's angry words 
on the day of the battle, and he wrote some very disre- 
spectful letters to him. Washington caused him to be 
tried by court-martial, and he was suspended from his 
command for a year. Before the year was up he was 
dismissed from the army for writing an impertinent let- 
ter to Congress. Sir Henry Clinton afterward sent word 
to the English General Philips, who was a prisoner in 
Virginia, that he fought on velvet at Monmouth, alluding, 
no doubt, to his suspicion of Lee's treason, which prob- 
ably prevented the day from being very disastrous to him. 
Eighty years had passed before it was discovered — when 
the private papers of General Howe were made public — 
that Lee had actually aided in planning the unlucky cam- 
paign against Philadelphia, even advising the sailing up 
the Chesapeake. Before this Lee had always been re- 
garded as an eccentric, hasty, ill-tempered man, who was 
slovenly in his dress, fonder of dogs than of men, and apt 
to indulge in criticism of his superior officers. To-day it 
is uncertain whether Lee's motives were wholly treason- 
able or only perverse at the battle of Monmouth, but his 



THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 249 

behavior as a prisoner among the English leaves him open 
to the worst suspicions. 

General Scott, an American officer, much given to 
swearing, was once reproved by a friend, who undertook 
to hold up Washington as an example, asking him if he 
ever heard that general swear. " Yes, once," answered 
Scott ; " it was at the battle of Monmouth, and on a day 
that would have made any man swear. Yes, sir, he 
swore on that day till the leaves shook on the trees. 
Charming ! delightful ! Never have I enjoyed such 
swearing before or since." 

Such an outburst of honest indignation as Washing- 
ton's on the field of Monmouth, however, had little in 
common with vulgar profanity in ordinary conversation. 



250 THE STORY OF Wx\SHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XL. 

DEFENSIVE WAR. 

1778-1179. 

The English had been forced to abandon their dearly 
bought possession of Philadelphia because of the proba- 
bility that the French would send a fleet to the Delaware 
and shut them up in that city. They were none too soon, 
for not long after the battle of Monmouth the Count 
d'Estaing, with a French fleet, arrived at the Capes of 
Delaware. Adverse winds only had prevented him from 
reaching America in time to have entrapped the English 
army. Washington said that, had the French been a lit- 
tle sooner, he might have captured Sir Harry, as he called 
Clinton, the English general. Finding the enemy gone, 
the French admiral sailed on to Sandy Hook. The 
pilots whom he engaged to carry him into New York 
harbor told him that the water on the bar was too shal- 
low for some of his ships. Though he offered a reward 
of fifty thousand crowns to the one who should carry him 
safely in, none of them wished to undertake it. Wash- 
ington and the French admiral were obliged to give up 
laying siege to New York, w^hich they had planned, and 
the fleet now sailed against Newport, where there was 
an army of six thousand English troops. Washington 
sent a force of men under General Sullivan to aid the 



DEFENSIVE WAR. 



251 



Freuch in capturing the British at Newport. Soon after 
their arrival an English fleet was seen outside of the har- 
bor. Count d'Estaing sailed out to give the enemy bat- 
tle, but a storm scattered both fleets, damaging the ships, 
and the French put into Boston for repairs, to the great 
disgust of General Sullivan and other American officers. 
Washington him- 
self was sadly dis- 
appointed, for, had 
the English army 
at Newport been 
captured, the war 
might have been 
brought to an 
end. However, 
he hid his regret, 
and tried to heal 
the disputes which 
arose between the 
Americans and 
French on this point. He warned his own officers that 
the French were apt to take fire when other men were 
scarcely warmed, and by using his influence avoided trou- 
ble between men of the two nations at a time when 
America sorely needed the help of France. 

Washington now took his position in the High- 
lands of the Hudson, guarding this important river, and 
hoping to strike some blow at the enemy when there 
should be a chance. After two years of struggle and hard 
fighting the two armies found themselves, in the fall of 
1778,' in about the same position that they had left in 




Washington's pistol holsters, of heavy 

patent leather. 
[From Washington's room at Mount Vernon.] 



252 THE STORY OF WASBINGTON. 

1776, except that, as Washington said, it was now the 
English who were using the spade and pickaxe. There 
was a rumor, however, that the enemy meant to attack 
the French in Boston, and Washington moved to the east 
side of the Hudson, and placed his army where it could 
march quickly to the aid of Boston. He was kept on the 
watch in this way for four months. Meantime the Eng- 
lish took the opportunity to send out foraging parties into 
New Jersey, and they captured a company of American 
dragoons, putting many of them to death at the point of 
the bayonet. This was all that the British accomplished 
in the campaign of 1778, after the retreat from Philadel- 
phia, except that late in the year Sir Henry Clinton 
planned an expedition up the Hudson toward the forts in 
the Highlands with great secrecy, never so much as 
letting a mouse get within his lines, as W^ashington said. 
The main body of the Americans were on the march to 
winter quarters in New Jersey when news reached them 
that the English were moving up the river. Although 
he had left the Highlands in command of a good officer, 
Washington was anxious, and hurried back with a num- 
ber of regiments. He reached the neighborhood of 
King's Ferry only to find that " Sir Harry " had, as he 
afterward said, burned two small log houses at this place, 
"destroyed nine barrels of spoiled herring, and set sail 
for New York " once more. The Americans returned, 
through cold and storm, to winter quarters, where the 
men got into huts as quickly as possible. Washington 
had hit upon the plan of dividing up his army for the 
winter, and quartering them in different places about 
New York, from the sound to the Delaware, so that they 



DEFENSIVE WAR. 253 

might be the more easily supplied with food, and yet 
protect the country as much as possible from the enemy. 
He made a plan for alarming the different posts in case 
of an attack. An eighteen pound cannon, known as the 
" Old Sow," was placed on Bottle Hill, in New Jersey, 
which overlooked a great extent of country, and here sen- 
tinels watched night and day. In case of an alarm, the 
" Old Sow " was to be fired every half hour. Immediately 
beacon fires were to be lighted on every hill, and so the 
news would spread from hilltop to hilltop. 

Washington spent about five weeks in Philadelphia 
during the winter, consulting with Congress about the 
next year's operations. He proposed three plans for the fol- 
lowing summer. The first was, to try to expel the enemy 
from New York ; the second, to march against the Eng- 
lish fort at Niagara, which was the center of Indian wars ; 
and the third was, to remain entirely on the defensive, 
except for some operation against the Indians. Paper 
money had become so worthless, the Government was so 
poor, and the country so much harassed by the war, that 
it was decided to adopt the last plan, and raise only a 
small army for the next year, thus giving the people rest, 
and leaving more men free to work on their farms and 
raise grain, that there need be no dangerous scarcity. 

The Indians had long tormented the frontier, encour- 
aged by the English, who held the forts in their midst, 
which had once belonged to the French. There were the 
usual massacres, burnings, and destruction. It had been 
impossible for Washington to aid the poor frontier peo- 
ple before, but he turned his attention in the summer of 
1779 to their cruel enemies. He sent General Sullivan 
19 



254 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

with an army of four thousand men into the country of 
the Six Nations, first giving him the most careful direc- 
tions about Indian fighting, and warning him against a 
surprise. Sullivan marched into the heart of the Indian 
country, had one battle with the enemy, in which he put 
them to rout, and then destroyed their towns and corn- 
fields, even chopping down the peach and apple orchards 
which stood about their cabins. 

The English Government meantime had decided to 
keep up a predatory war, in which seacoast towns should 
be destroyed, and the people distressed into submission. 
Sir Henry Clinton accordingly sent some ships and men to 
Virginia, where they sacked a town, destroyed a stock of 
provisions, burned a village and some country houses, and 
seized a good deal of tobacco. After the return of this 
inglorious expedition, a number of vessels, containing an 
army of six thousand men, sailed up the Hudson and at- 
tacked some unfinished works of the Americans at Stony 
Point and Yerplanck's Point. They captured these works, 
and would have moved against the other forts on the Hud- 
son, but, learning that Washington was ready for him, Sir 
Harry thought best to sail back again. 



Washington's portfolio on which he wrote his despatches 
during the revolution. ' 

[In the National Museum, Washington, D. C] 



THE STORMING OP STONY POINT. 255 



CHAPTER XLI. 

THE STOKMING OF STOKY POINT. 

1779. 

Sir Henry Clinton did not choose to attack Wash- 
ington in his strong camp in the Highlands. By way of 
keeping up a predatory warfare, and hoping to draw the 
American general into the level country, where he could 
fight him to better advantage, he sent Governor Tryon 
with a body of men and ships to attack the coast of Con- 
necticut. Tryon landed at New Haven, plundered the 
people, and burned the stores on the wharves; he then 
sailed to Fairfield and Norwalk, sacked these towns, and 
burned them to the ground. Washington, however, did 
not move down to defend Connecticut, as Clinton had 
hoped, but struck a blow in another quarter, which caused 
the English general to hastily recall his forces under 
Tryon and give up the destruction of New London, 
which he had planned next. 

Washington, indeed, was mortified that he was obliged 
to lie inactive during the summer of 1779, and felt that 
he must do something to keep the people in heart, for 
it would have been unwise even to let his friends know 
why he stayed in the Highlands, and how small his army 
was. Stony Point is a rocky hill standing out in the 
Hudson, and cut off from the mainland by water and a 



256 THE STORY OF WASH^^GTON. 

marsh, over which there ran a causeway. The English 
had finished the works begun by the Americans at this 
place, and had placed some vessels in the river near by to 
protect Stony Point and Yerplanck's Point, which lay op- 
posite. Washington thought that with a small body 
of men and a perfect surprise the fort might be cap- 
tured. Should this succeed, it would be a great encour- 
agement to the Americans, and if the attempt failed the 
loss would be small. He planned the attack with a great 
deal of care, and chose General Anthony Wayne, who was 
nicknamed " Mad Anthony " in the army, to command 
the assault. Washington had a long consultation with 
this officer, in which Wayne is reported to have said, in 
his enthusiasm : 

" General, if you will only plan it, I will storm hell." 
It was agreed that Wayne was to keep his intentions a 
secret even from his officers and men until almost the mo- 
ment of attack, and that he was to guard every road care- 
fully, and see that no one came or went from Stony Point, 
so that by no possibility should the enemy hear of his in- 
tentions. He was to take a few artillerymen with him to 
serve the guns in case the fort should be cajDtured ; but 
so eager was Washington to hide his designs even from 
friends, that when he ordered these men down to join 
Wayne he caused them to bring two cannon with them, 
that they might not suspect on what sort of errand they 
were bound. Washington carefully picked the men for 
the attempt on Stony Point from all the States. He 
chose midnight as the best time for a surprise, for he said 
that, as two o'clock was the usual time for such adven- 
tures, a good officer was more on his guard late in the 



THE STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



257 



night. Finally, that no possible alarm might be given, 
all the dogs in the neighborhood of Stony Point were 
killed as the Americans approached. 

The men had no idea whither they were bound. They 
were marched fourteen miles through a very rough coun- 
try, on the 15th of July, 1779. By eight o'clock at night 
they were within a mile and a half of Stony Point, and 
here they rested for over 
three hours. By half 
past eleven they were on 
the march again. When 
they neared the fort the 
order to halt was passed 
along the line in a low 
tone. Each man then 
fixed a white paper in his 
hat, so that he might be 
known to his friends in 
the darkness. The men 
were divided into two 
columns, which were to 
attack the fort from dif- 
ferent points. Ahead of 
either column marched a 

forlorn hope of twenty men provided with axes, with 
which they were to cut away the abatis which was half- 
way up the hill. The advanced men in each division 
carried their muskets unloaded, that, being unable to fire, 
they would be compelled to depend upon the bayonet. 
The watchword of the night was to be " The fort's our 
own ! " The men passed the marsh, and silently moved 




MAP OF 
THE STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



258 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

up the hill from two points. The blows of the axemen 
upon the abatis were the first sounds which reached the 
garrison of the fort. At twenty minutes past twelve the 
word was given to advance. The Americans rushed up 
the hill in the face of a hot fire of musketry and grape- 
shot from the fort. On they went, and over the works, 
driving the English back at the point of the bayonet, 
and never discharging a gun. The young French officer 
Colonel Fleury was the first man to enter the fort. He 
pulled down the English colors, and cried : 

" The fort's our own ! " 

The watchword was soon answered from all sides. 
Wayne had been struck on the head with a musket ball 
while still outside the fort. He fell, but, rising on one 
knee, cried : 

" March on ! Carry me into the fort, for, should the 
wound be mortal, I will die at the head of my column." 

His aids helped him into the fort, and his injury 
proved not to be a serious one. Stony Point was quickly 
in the hands of the Americans. Some six hundred men 
were captured, and a number of cannon and stores. The 
guns of Stony Point were directed against Verplanck's 
Point, for Washington had hoped to take this post also. 
But the officer who was to attack it from the other side 
of the river, once Stony Point was secure, did not re- 
ceive his message in time, and before the attempt could 
be made the English had moved up to protect it. Wash- 
ington thought best not to keep Stony Point, since his 
army was small, and it would take more men than he 
could spare to defend it against an enemy who had ship- 
ping. Accordingly he destroyed the works and abandoned 



THE STORMING OF STONY POINT. 259 

it. Though the English afterward occupied the point 
again for a short time and rebuilt the works, the storming 
of Stony Point was very much admired in America and in 
Europe, and did much to encourage faint-hearted people, 
as Washington had hoped. 

About a month after the storming of Stony Point, 
Major Henry Lee, known to fame as " Light-Horse Harry 
Lee," with something over three hundred Americans, sur- 
prised the English fort at Paulus Hook, where Jersey City 
now stands, and took one hundred and fifty-nine prison- 
ers. The exploits of the English during the campaign of 
1779 were confined to the burning of some defenseless 
Connecticut towns. " How a conduct of this kind," said 
Washington, " is to effect the conquest of America, the 
wisdom of a North, a Germaine, or a Sandwich best can 
tell." North, Germaine, and Sandwich were English min- 
isters. W^ashington pronounced their policy of warfare 
on unprotected towns too deep and refined for ordinary 
mortals to understand. 



• 
260 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XLIL 

WINTER QUARTERS. 

1779-1780. 

1^ the latter part of November, 17 79, Washington 
was troubled in getting the stock of clothing divided 
among the men before going into winter quarters. 
There was not enough of it, and there was so much dif- 
ference in color and quality that it was hard to make it 
answer. He quartered his men in various places around 
Xew York, as he had done the w^inter before, and made 
Morristown his headquarters. Mrs. Washington spent 
the winter, as usual, with her husband. She said that she 
heard the first and the last cannon of the season, while 
AVashington wrote to a friend that his wife always 
" marched home when the campaign was about to open." 
Their quarters were very uncomfortable, often " a squeezed- 
up room or two," as he said. At one place there were but 
two frame houses in the settlement, and neither of them 
had an upper story. Washington chose one of these 
houses, and engaged a couple of young soldiers, who were 
carpenters, to fit up a room in the attic for Mrs. Wash- 
ington, whom one of the men afterward described as " a 
portly, agreeable-looking woman of forty-five." She said 
to these carpenter-soldiers : 

"Now, young men, I care for nothing but comfort 



WINTER QUA RISERS. 261 

here, and should like you to fit me up a buffet on one 
side of the room, and some shelves and places for hanging 
clothes on the other." 

Every morning, about eleven o'clock, she carried some 
refreshments upstairs for her mechanics. They worked 
very earnestly, nailing smooth boards over the worm- 
eaten planks of the attic, doing what they could to im- 
prove the rough and knotty floor, building shelves, put- 
ting up pegs, and making a buffet. On the fourth day 
they finished their work, and one of them said to Mrs. 
Washington, when she came upstairs : 

" Madam, we have done the best we could. I hope 
we have suited you." 

" I am astonished," answered the lady with a smile. 
" Your work would do honor to an old master, and you 
are mere lads. I am not only satisfied, but highly grati- 
fied with what you have done for my comfort." 

Mrs. Washington bore all sorts of discomforts cheer- 
fully. At Newburg, she and the general were quartered 
in a Dutch farmhouse. The largest room in this house 
was used for a dining-room, but it had only one window 
and seven doors, while the fireplace was large enough to 
roast a bullock in. The sitting-room was very small, and 
when Washington had to entertain a French officer, he 
was obliged to put him on a camp bed in this same sitting- 
room, to the astonishment of the Frenchman. In camp 
Washington ate from tin plates. He once described his 
table, after inviting some ladies to dine with him. 

" Since our arrival at this happy spot," said he, " we 
have had a ham (sometimes a shoulder) of bacon to grace 
the head of the table ; a piece of roast beef adorns the 



262 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

foot, and a disli of beans or greens (almost imperceptible) 
decorates the center. When the cook has a mind to cut 
a figure (which I presume will be the case to-morrow), we 
have two beefsteak pies, or dishes of crabs, in addition, 
one on each side of the center dish, dividing the space 
and reducing the distance between dish and dish to about 
six feet, which without them would be near twelve feet 
apart. Of late he has had the surprising sagacity to dis- 
cover that apples will make pies, and it's a question if, 
in the violence of his efforts, we do not get one of ap- 
ples, instead of having both of beefsteaks. If the ladies 
can put up with such entertainment, and will submit to 
partake of it on plates once tin, but now iron (not be- 
come so by the labor of scouring), I shall be happy to 
see them." During these active years of his life Wash- 
ington has been described as having been a very hearty 
eater, and hunger is said to have put him in a sort of 
rage. 

Once Washington's headquarters were at the house of a 
Mrs. Berry, in New Jersey. Mrs. Washington arrived one 
day at this house in her coach, escorted by ten dragoons. 
Mrs. Berry, looking out of her window, saw a plain little 
woman, dressed in brown homespun, wearing a hood, and 
a large white handkerchief folded across her bosom, 
alight from the carriage. Though she was folloAved by a 
colored maid, Mrs. Berry thought that she must be an 
upper servant, until she saw the general meet her, greet 
her affectionately, and begin to inquire after his pet 
horses. 

During the winter in Morristown the headquarters 
were at the house of Mrs. Ford, the widow of a Revo- 



WINTER QUARTERS. 263 

lutionary officer. Here Washington had a family of 
eighteen, including his servants, and they and Mrs. 
Ford's servants were all obliged to crowd together into 
one small kitchen. The general wished to build another 
kitchen, but could not get the necessary boards. Some- 
times there were alarms that the enemy was coming. 
The soldiers of Washington's life guard then hurried into 
the house, barricaded the doors, took out the windows, 
and stood at them with their muskets cocked. Mean- 
while Mrs. W^ashington and Mrs. Ford were forced to go 
to bed to keep warm. When the alarm was over, the 
general always went to the ladies' beds, drew back the 
curtains, and told them that all was safe. It is told of 
Washington, that one night on the Hudson, when the 
enemy marched to attack him, and the wives of a number 
of the generals were present, it was proposed to remove 
the ladies ; but Washington refused. 

" The presence of our wives," said he, " will the better 
encourage us to a brave defense." 

A great hurry followed, the commands of officers, the 
marching of troops, and the dragging of cannon, while 
the house filled with soldiers and the windows were 
taken out. But the English, finding, perhaps, that they 
had not surprised the Americans, retired. 

Soon after Mrs. Washington arrived in winter quar- 
ters at Morristown some of the ladies of the town went 
to call upon her, richly dressed. They were surprised to 
find that she wore brown homespun, and were a little 
ashamed of their own extravagance at a time when the 
country was in so much distress. They thought her 
"wise, kind-hearted, and winning in all her ways." Mrs. 



264 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



Washington was a very busy woman. She told one lady 
that at Mount Vernon, where there was an army of slaves 
to clothe, she kept sixteen spinning wheels going, and had 
a great deal of cloth woven in her house. She showed 
her two dresses of cotton and silk woven bv her servants. 




RUINS OF SLAVES' QUARTERS, MOUNT VERNON. 

[Spinning-house, etc., in the distance.] 



The silk stripes were made from the ravelings of brown 
silk stockings, and old, crimson damask chair covers. 
Her coachman, footman, and maid were dressed through- 
out in homemade goods, except that the coachman's 
cuffs were made of scarlet cloth imported before the war. 
The year before, while Mrs. Washington was at win- 
ter quarters in Middlebrook, she was amused by a review 
of the army in which some Indians from western Penn- 



WINTER QUARTERS. 265 

sylvania took part. It was wise to flatter these people in 
some way, so Washington rode along the lines, a noble 
fignre, followed by his Indian guests, looking much like 
cutthroats, as Mrs. Washington said, half-naked as they 
were, or covered with ragged shawls which fluttered in the 
wind, while their bodies were decorated with feathers and 
strings of bear's claws, and they were mounted on miser- 
able old horses with no saddles and bridles made of rope, 
carrying their guns in all sorts of positions. Mrs. Wash- 
ington declared that it was the funniest review she had 
ever seen. Sometimes she was present when the general, 
on the occasion of some great event, pardoned men who 
had been imprisoned for various offenses. Once it was in 
honor of the alliance with France, and fifty thinly clad 
fellows, with pale but happy faces, came to headquarters 
to express their thanks. Mrs. Washington's eyes filled 
with tears, and she gave them some money and said kind 
words to them. Their spokesman kissed her hand and 
said, " God bless Lady W^ashington ! " 

Sometimes there were balls in honor of some event, 
and it was not uncommon for the ballroom to be deco- 
rated with representations of Washington's various suc- 
cesses. At these assemblies, as they were called, the gen- 
eral and his wife danced the minuet. 

The last years of the war were very trying to Washing- 
ton. He said that he had not desponded in what America 
had called her gloomy days, but now that the people had 
lost their ardor and were inclined to depend upon France 
to fight the war for them, at a time when their money 
was so worthless as to make it almost impossible to 
feed or keep an army, and Congress was daily becoming 



266 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

weaker and more helpless, he had the keenest anxieties. 
" We can no longer drudge on in the old way," said he. 
Cries of distress came to him from all parts of the coun- 
try, while he was powerless to help. When the Continen- 
tal money no longer passed, he wrote, " We stand upon 
the brink of a precipice from which the smallest help 
casts us headlong." During the winter in Morristown, 
wdiich was the coldest within man's memory, the men 
lived, as Washington said, on " every kind of horse food 
except hay." When it became necessary to force the peo- 
ple to sell provisions whether they would or no, he 
directed that it should be done with as much tenderness 
as possible, and then he dreaded lest it should " sour the 
tempers " of the people. " It would be well for the 
troops," said he, " if they could, like the bear, suck their 
paws for sustenance during the rigors of the winter." 
Once he declared that either the men must " disband or 
cater for themselves." So hard a life did the Eevolu- 
tionary soldier lead, that Morgan, when asked which na- 
tionality made the best soldiers, answered that men were 
all much alike, none of them fighting more than was 
necessary, but that he preferred the German, because, 
said he, " he starves well." The American officers also 
suffered much, for paper money had become so worthless 
that their pay amounted to almost nothing. An officer's 
expenses meantime were very great, for, as Washington 
said, " a rat in the shape of a horse " cost two hundred 
pounds, or a thousand dollars, a saddle two hundred dol- 
lars, and a pair of boots a hundred dollars. Some of the 
officers applied for the coarse clothing furnished so scan- 
tily to the men, and, as Washington said, it was only " pa- 



WINTER QUARTERS. 267 

triotism and a love of honor " which kept these men in 
the service. 

There was never enough clothing. Washington wrote 
at one time that a great many men were destitute of 
shirts and breeches, and a fourth or fifth without shoes. 
They were " feelingly reminded " of the want of clothing, 
he said, in cold weather. Again it was, " We have no 
shirts." Another time he wrote to Lafayette, " Your in- 
fantry is formed, two thousand fine men, but the greater 
part of them naked." In a review of the troops held in 
the spring of 1780, a regiment of men cut up the few 
shirts among them to make collars for the whole. Soon 
after this the ladies of Philadelphia raised a fund to aid 
the soldiers, and Washington advised them to put it into 
shirts, which were always lacking. They accordingly 
made two thousand and five shirts, at the house of Mrs. 
Bache, the daughter of Franklin. Each lady put her 
name on the garments she had made, and they were sent to 
the army in the winter of 1780-'81. But in spite of the 
fact that, owing to short enlistments, the troops were like 
a pedestal of ice," forever melting under him, though 
there was sometimes not money enough in the hands of 
the quartermaster general to pay for an express, and 
though the army, owing to state jealousies, was, as he 
said, sometimes one and sometimes thirteen armies, while 
it was often neither or both, Washington kept up heart. 
He said that the possession of American towns while 
there was an army in the field would do the enemy little 
good, and that he had got so inured to difficulties by this 
time that he was able to take them more calmly than he 
had been used to do. 



268 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Many of the States, in order to bring paper money 
back to credit, had made laws that it should be taken 
in payment for debts. The money did not gain in 
value, but such laws gave many men a chance for dis- 
honest speculation. " Virtue and patriotism are almost 
kicked out," said Washington, and he despised those men 
who tried to make fortunes out of the general ruin. 
While the general was at Morristown, Lafayette once 
noticed that he treated a certain man very coldly when 
he came to headquarters. He thought that perhaps this 
was because Washington was busy at the time, but when 
the man came a second time the commander in chief only 
nodded to him. Lafayette afterward asked the general 
why this was. Washington explained that the man had 
taken advantage of the law making Continental currency 
legal tender to pay his debts in it at a time when forty 
dollars were worth about one. 

"I tried to speak to him," said Washington, "but 
that Continental money stuck in my throat, and the words 
would not come out." 

During the bitter cold of the winter at Morristown 
Washington planned a descent on Staten Island. Lord 
Stirling and a body of men crossed on the ice, which had 
frozen over between New Jersey and this island, but they 
found the enemy prepared, and were obliged to retreat. 
In the late spring of 1780 General Knyphausen retaliated 
by entering Xew Jersey, and trying to strike a blow at 
Morristown; but cannon were fired, signal fires were 
lighted, and the New Jersey militia rose and fought from 
behind fences. Washington, too, was prepared for him, 
and Knyphausen finally retired, after having burned two 



WINTER QUARTERS. 269 

villages. Mrs. Caldwell, the wife of a favorite minister, 
was killed, either by a chance shot or the gun of some 
wanton soldier, during this expedition, and her death 
added much to the bitter hatred which the Jersey people 
had come to feel for their invaders. 



20 



270 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTEE XLIII. 

THE TREAS0:N' of ARNOLD AliD THE FATE OF ANDRE. 
THE USE OF SPIES. 

1180. 

After leaving Boston, where he liacl put in for re- 
pairs, the French admiral, Count d'Estaing, had sailed to 
the West Indies to fight the English there. He returned 
to Georgia in 1779, and made an unsuccessful attack on 
the British in Savannah. But Sir Henry Clinton was so 
much alarmed by the presence of a French fleet on the 
coast of North America that he evacuated Newport and 
Stony Point, and drew all his forces in the north into 
New York, where he fortified industriously. During the 
winter of 1779-'80 Lafayette went to France to ask for 
more aid. He not only asked for troops, but he begged 
for arms and clothing. 

" It is fortunate for the king," said the Prime Minis- 
ter of France, " that Lafayette does not take it into his 
head to strip Versailles of its furniture to send to his 
dear Americans, as his Majesty would be unable to re- 
fuse it." 

In July, 1780, part of a new French fleet arrived at 
Newport, consisting of ten men-of-war, two bombs, and 
five thousand soldiers. There was a second division to 
follow, and then Washington and the Count de Rocham- 



THE TREASON OF ARNOLD. 2Yl 

beau, the commander of the French forces, hoped to be 
strong enough to lay seige to New York from the land 
and from the water. Soon after the arrival of the French 
fleet, Sir Henry Clinton put six thousand soldiers on ships 
and crossed the sound, bent on attacking them. But 
Washington, whose headquarters were at Tappan, in the 
Highlands, immediately moved down to strike at New 
York in his absence, and Clinton hurried back again. 
The English, however, who had much the larger fleet, 
blockaded the French in Newport. Unluckily, the second 
division of the French fleet never arrived, for it also was 
blockaded by another English fleet in the harbor of Brest, 
in France. 

In the fall of 1780 Washington made a journey to 
Hartford, where he met the French General Kochambeau 
and consulted with him about future operations. But 
nothing could be done. The blockade of the French 
fleets in Newport and in France spoiled all plans. Wash- 
ington had been through immense difficulties to raise men 
and clothe them for the campaign, which he had hoped 
would be his last, and all that now remained was to wait 
for re-enforcements from a third French fleet, which was 
in the West Indies, in which case he might yet carry out 
his projects. While he was absent from his army a 
treacherous plot was being laid, which promised ruin to 
all his hopes and to the cause of America. 

Washington had always thought it important to keep 
possession of the Hudson, which separated the New Eng- 
land from the other States, and which, were it once taken, 
would cut the Union in two. Since it was impossible to 
guard the Hudson at New York, he had chosen the High- 



272 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

lands, where the country was rough and the river was 
narrow, as a place of defense. He made West Point his 
principal fort, and had had thousands of men doing fa- 
tigue duty there the summer before in order to make it a 
very strong place. At this point an immense iron chain 
w^as stretched across the river. West Point was so im- 
portant, indeed, that it was called the Gibraltar of America. 
General Benedict Arnold had shown great courage in 
several battles, had been twice wounded, and was very 
popular. He was, however, a dishonest man. When he 
was in Canada he had been charged with robbing the 
merchants in Montreal for the purpose of selling the 
goods for his own profit. After the evacuation of Phila- 
delphia by the English he had been put in command of 
that city, and was guilty of dishonest practices there. He 
led a gay and extravagant life in Philadelphia, living in 
the handsome Penn house, which he furnished richly, 
and driving in a coach and four. He married, as his sec- 
ond wife, Miss Shippen, a beautiful girl of eighteen, who 
had been a favorite with the British officers the year be- 
fore, and had figured as a Turkish princess in the Mis- 
chianza. His debts soon became very great. He made 
large claims on the Government for his expenses in Can- 
ada, but these were very much cut down before they were 
paid. He was imbittered because he had once been over- 
looked in the promotion of officers. He was also tried by 
court-martial for dishonest practices, but was acquitted 
of all except some small charges, such as that of using 
public wagons for his own purposes, and was only sen- 
tenced to be reprimanded by the commander in chief. 
Washington softened his reprimand by praising Arnold's 



THE TREASON OP ARNOLD. 273 

courage ; but, soured by disgrace and embarrassed by 
debt, Arnold secretly opened a correspondence with the 
enemy by writing to a friend of his wife's — Major John 
Andre, of the English army. The letters were in a dis- 
guised handwriting, signed with assumed names, and the 
schemes of the writers were hidden under such expres- 
sions as "good speculations," "ready money," and the 
" price of tobacco," as though they were the writings of 
merchants discussing their business. In order that his 
treason might fetch a larger price, and that he might be 
honored as ending the war, Arnold wished to turn over 
some important post to the enemy. It had long been 
Clinton's desire to possess the forts on the Hudson, but 
he dared not attack places so strong. The capture of 
these posts at a time of so much discouragement in Amer- 
ica miglit have put an end to the war in a way disastrous 
to the hopes of Americans. 

Arnold asked Washington to give him the command of 
West Point and the Highlands. The commanding gen- 
eral tried to persuade him to go into more active service, 
but Arnold said that his wounds were still too bad ; and 
Washington, who thought him a brave and trustworthy 
officer, intrusted him with this most important post. 

Arnold chose the time when Washington had gone to 
meet the Count de Rochambeau to complete the plans for 
his treason. It was necessary that there should be some 
military operations, so that the traitor should not appear 
to have given up his post without a fight. A large body 
of English soldiers were put on ships in New York harbor 
to be ready for action, and Major Andre was sent up the 
Hudson, in the sloop of war Vulture, to within fifteen 



2^4 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

miles of West Point, to consult with the American gen- 
eral. In case of success, Andre, as well as Arnold, was to 
have a large reward in money, and to be made a British 
general. Sir Henry Clinton had warned Andre not to go 
within the American lines, and not to carry any papers, 
lest he might be caught as a spy. A flag of truce was 
sent ashore from the Vulture, that Arnold might know 
where his accomplice was ; and the American general sent 
a man named Joshua Smith to the English vessel in the 
night, in a boat with muffled oars, to bring Andre away. 
Arnold met him in the bushes on shore. They consulted 
together for some time, and Arnold finally persuaded An- 
dre to mount an extra horse which he had brought with 
him and accompany him to the house of Smith, which 
was inside the American lines. Here the English adju- 
tant general and the American general agreed upon the 
plan for the capture of the strong forts and valuable 
stores on the Hudson, and probably on the price of the 
treason. The plan was for Arnold to draw most of his 
men out into the gorges of the Highlands, in defense of 
West Point, leaving the fort nearly unprotected, so that 
the English might enter, capture the works, and so cut off 
the men from a retreat. They must either be captured 
or be cut to pieces. With so large a part of his army 
sacrificed, and completely divided from the French as he 
would have been, it was expected that Washington, with 
the remainder of his men, must succumb. Certainly the 
people, in their state of discouragement, would hardly 
have gained heart after so severe a blow. 

While the consultation was going on an American 
officer had brought a gun to bear on the Vulture, so that 



THE TREASON OF ARNOLD. 



275 







MAP OF THE 
TAKING OF ANDRE 



-f — ■tnt%'>fnq(r 

in^andri's pocfers 



she was forced to fall down the river ; and as it was im- 
possible to get any one to run the risk of taking Andre 
out to her, it was necessary for him to return to New York 



276 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

by land. Up to this time he had worn his officer's uni- 
form, hidden under a long coat, but he now removed it 
and put on some clothes belonging to Smith. Taking 
with him some papers, among which were a plan of West 
Point, an account of Washington's plans for the campaign, 
and a pass written by Arnold, he assumed the name of 
John Anderson, and, accompanied by Smith, crossed the 
river and took a roundabout course through the American 
lines. After some alarms he got through in safety, and 
Smith left him. When he was near Tarrytown he was 
stopped by some roving militiamen, who were playing 
cards in the bushes and watching the road in the hope of 
waylaying some one whom they might plunder, after the 
fashion of many men on both sides of the disj^ute in those 
lawless days. Andre took them to be cowboys, as Tories 
of this sort were called, and said : 

" Gentlemen, I hope you belong to our party ? " 

" Which party ? " asked one of them. 

" The lower party," answered Andre. 

The men said that they did. 

" I am a British officer on particular business," Andre 
then said, " and I hope you will not detain me a minute." 

But the men thought they would. They took their 
prisoner into the bushes and undressed him. They were 
looking for money, but they found papers in their prison- 
er's stockings. They then concluded that he was a spy, 
and though he offered them his watch and a large sum of 
money, which, however, he did not have with him, they 
would not let him go. They took him to Xorth Castle 
and delivered him up to Colonel Jameson, an American 
officer, claiming his watch, horse, saddle, and bridle as 



THE TREASON OF ARNOLD. 277 

plunder. Jiimeson, though the papers found on the pris- 
oner were in Arnold's handwriting, did not once think 
of suspecting his general, but was about to send Andre to 
him. Another officer, Major Tallmadge, however, with 
much trouble persuaded Jameson not to do this, but the 
latter persisted in sending a letter to Arnold, announcing 
the capture of a man named John Anderson, so giving the 
traitor warning that he was about to be discovered. He 
sent the papers found on Andre to Washington by an ex- 
press messenger, who was to meet the commanding general 
on his way back from Hartford. 

But Washington did not return by the road that he 
had gone, and so missed the messenger. He had spent 
the night at Fishkill, and came down the river road, as the 
Albany road was called, early on the morning of Septem- 
ber 26, 1780. He had sent his baggage ahead to Ar- 
nold's headquarters, with the message that he would be 
there to breakfast. He presently, however, turned up a 
road which led to the river opposite West Point. 

" General, you are going in a wrong direction," said 
Lafayette, who was with him ; " you know Mrs. Arnold 
is waiting breakfast for us." 

" Ah," exclaimed Washington, in banter, " I know 
you young men are all in love with Mrs. Arnold, and wish 
to get where she is as soon as possible. You may go and 
take your breakfast with her, and tell her not to wait for 
me. I must ride down and examine the redoubts on this 
side of the river, and will be there in a short time." 

The young officers, however, remained with Washing- 
ton, excepting two aids, who rode on to let Mrs. Arnold 
know that Washington was not coming. They found 



278 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

breakfast waiting, but on their arrival Arnold and his 
wife and aids sat down to eat. While they were at break- 
fast a messenger arrived with the letter from Colonel 
Jameson, which told Arnold of the capture of Andre and 
the ruin of his well-laid plot. He showed some excite- 
ment, but presently told the young men calmly enough 
that his presence was required at West Point, and that 
they might tell Washington, on his arrival, that he had 
ffone across the river. He then went to Mrs. Arnold's 
room and sent for her. He broke the evil news to her 
suddenly, and left her in a fainting fit. He hurried to the 
door, mounted a horse belonging to one of his aids, which 
happened to stand there ready saddled, and rode to the 
river bank. He jumped into a boat, and ordered the six 
men who manned it to pull out into midstream. He then 
told them that he was going down the river with a flag of 
truce, and promised them two gallons of rum for their 
long pull. When they passed Verplanck's Point he held 
up a white handkerchief as a flag of truce, and was finally 
landed on board the English ship, where, instead of get- 
ting their rum, the boatmen were made prisoners by their 
own general. 

Washington arrived at Arnold's house soon after he 
had left. Hearing that Mrs. Arnold was ill, and that the 
general had gone over to West Point, he ate a hasty break- 
fast and prepared to follow him. When he was crossing 
the river he said to his officers : 

" W^ell, gentlemen, I am glad, on the whole, that Gen- 
eral Arnold has gone before us, for we shall now have a 
salute, and the roaring of the cannon will have a fine ef- 
fect among these mountains." But all was silent. 



THE TREASON OF ARNOLD. 279 

" What ! " he exclaimed presently, " do they not intend 
to salnte us ? " 

A solitary officer, who met the boat at the shore, said 
that Arnold had not been there. 

" This is extraordinary," said Washington. " However, 
our visit must not be in vain. Since we have come, we 
must look around a little and see in what state things are 
with you." 

The express messenger which had been sent to meet 
Washington with the papers found on Andre, finding 
that he had not gone by the lower road, had returned and 
arrived at Arnold's headquarters during the general's ab- 
sence. Alexander Hamilton, one of Washington's aids 
who had not gone to West Point with him, opened the 
package. When the commander returned, at the end of 
about two hours, Hamilton laid the papers before him 
without a word. The discovery of this j)lot must have 
been a great blow to Washington, but he merely said : 

" Whom can we trust now ? " and those who were in 
the house observed that, while he was considering the 
papers he chewed to pieces a switch which he had brought 
in with him. He sent in pursuit of Arnold, but it was 
too late. He expressed orders in all directions, putting 
his forces in readiness for an attack. It was long before 
the plot was completely unraveled, and before Washington 
could be sure that there were not other officers concerned 
in it, and his anxiety must have been very great. 

Mrs. Arnold, who was the mother of a little baby, 
was distracted with grief. Washington after a while sent 
her to her friends in Philadelphia, and she afterward 
Joined her husband in New York. Andre was brought 



280 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

to Arnold's house, though Washington himself never saw 
him. He was soon sent on to Tappan, the headquarters 
of the army, for safe keeping. He and Major Tallmadge, 
who guarded him on his journey, were the best of friends 
and talked freely together. Andre described how he was 
to have aided in the sham attack on West Point, and how 
he would have been made a brigadier-general as a reward. 
He asked Tallmadge what he thought his fate would 
now be. The young American officer tried to avoid an- 
swering, but Andre would not be put off. 

" I had a much-loved classmate in Yale College," 
Tallmadge finally said, " by the name of Nathan Hale, 
who entered the army in 1775. Immediately after the 
battle of Long Island, General Washington wanted infor- 
mation respecting the strength, position, and probable 
movements of the enemy. Captain Hale tendered his 
services, went over to Brooklyn, and was taken just as he 
was passing the outposts of the enemy on his return. 
Do you remember the sequel of this story ? " 

" Yes," said Andre ; " he was hanged as a spy. But 
you surely do not consider his case and mine alike?" 

Tallmadge answered that he did, and Andre seemed 
much troubled for a time. He was a very engaging and 
accomplished young man, and those who were with him 
became attached to him. Washington appointed a board 
of officers to decide whether he should be regarded as a 
spy. When he was called before this board, Andre frankly 
admitted that he had not come into the American lines 
under the protection of a flag of truce, that he had worn a 
disguise, and had gone under a false name. The officers 
decided that these things, with the fact that he carried 



THE TREASON OF ARNOLD. 281 

information in his stockings, were enough to class him as 
a sjoy. They recommended that he should be hanged, 
such being the law of war regarding spies. Washington 
thought it right that an example should be made of Andre 
for the warning of the English, and of all conspirators 
among the Americans. He was still painfully uncertain 
how many of his own officers might have been engaged in 
Arnold's plot. He caused it to be intimated to Sir Henry 
Clinton, however, that Andre's life could be saved by his 
exchange for Arnold ; but Clinton, though he wished to 
save his young favorite, could not in honor give Arnold 
up. Washington also laid a plot for ca|)turing Arnold, 
and an American sergeant deserted to the enemy for this 
purpose, but the plan failed. 

Andre wrote a letter to Washington, begging that he 
might be shot rather than hanged, since shooting was an 
honorable soldier's death. But Washington thought that 
even this request could not be granted, for Andre had 
been engaged in a dishonorable transaction. He avoided 
answering the young man in order not to give him un- 
necessary pain. Arnold meantime sent a letter to Wash- 
ington, threatening that if Andre were hanged he would 
retaliate on any Americans that came in his power and 
" spill a torrent of blood." Such a letter, of course, had 
only the effect of making the American commander more 
fixed in his stern purpose. 

Andre was executed on the 2d of October, in the pres- 
ence of the American army, excepting that Washington 
and his suite were absent. The young man was perfectly 
calm on the morning of his death. When his servant 
came into the room in tears, he said : " Leave me till you 



282 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

can show yourself more manly." He shaved and dressed 
himself, and ate the breakfast which was sent to him, as 
usual, from Washington's table. He then said to the 
officers of the guard, " I am ready at any moment, gentle- 
men, to wait on you." 

He walked quietly to the spot of execution, but when 
he saw the gallows he showed some emotion. " I am 
reconciled to my death, but I detest the mode," he said. 
His last words were, " I pray you to bear me witness that 
I met my fate like a brave man." Captain Hale, the 
young American whose case many compared to that of 
Andre, had said at the gallows, " I only lament that I 
have but one life to lose for my country." 

Arnold was burned in effigy all over the United 
States. The next spring he led an English expedition 
by sea against Virginia, burned Richmond, and collected 
a lot of plunder. A storm having injured the English 
fleet which blockaded the French in Newport and driven 
them off, some French vessels were sent to capture 
Arnold in Virginia ; but the latter general succeeded in 
drawing his ships too far up the Elizabeth River for the 
French ships to reach them, and the French returned with- 
out success, to the regret of Washington. " The world," 
he said, " is disappointed at not seeing Arnold in gibbets." 

Among Washington's other anxieties after the escape 
of Arnold to the English was the fear that some of his 
spies should have been known to this general, and so be 
in danger. During the Revolutionary War he made use 
of every means to gain information of the enemy's 
strength and movements. It was so easy for men to enter 
the British lines under pretense of being Tories or de- 



THE USE OF SPIES. 283 

serters that he was usually pretty well informed of Eng- 
lish doings. When he lay before Boston, soon after he 
had taken command of the American army, Washington 
was one night stopped at his own door by a boy of six- 
teen, who stood on guard and who insisted that the gen- 
eral's coach should not pass until the countersign had 
been given. The fellow, whose name was Bancroft, was 
ordered to come to headquarters next morning, at which 
he was much frightened. 

" Are you the sentinel who stood at my door at nine 
o'clock last night ? " asked Washington. 

" Yes, sir, and I tried to do my duty." 

" I wish all the army understood it as well as you do," 
said the general. " Can you keep a secret ? " 

" I can try." 

" Are you willing to have your name struck from the 
pay roll of the army, and engage in secret service at the 
hazard of your life, for which I promise you forty dollars 
a month ? " 

The boy was willing, and Washington gave him a let- 
ter in a blank envelope, which he told him to take to Rox- 
bury Heights, and, lifting up a certain flat stone, to put 
a round stone which lay near it beneath it, and, taking a 
letter from a hollow under this stone, deposit the one he 
carried in its place. He was to be very careful not to let 
any one take him. Bancroft went to Roxbury Heights 
for some time, fetching and carrying letters. One night 
he thought he saw two persons watching him in the 
bushes, and he went close to them and peered in. Wash- 
ington told him that he must never do that again, lest 
some one should jump out and capture him. The next 



284 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

night three men rushed out of the bushes and chased 
Bancroft. He had to run very hard, and was almost 
caught before he reached the American lines and gave 
the countersign. Washington did not send him there 
again, but presently told him to take a letter to a certain 
house down on Cambridge Neck. 

"Enter the front door," said he, "and when you 
enter the room, if there be more than one person present, 
sit down and make yourself a stranger; when all have 
gone out of the room but one, then get up and walk 
across the room repeatedly. After you have passed and 
repassed, he will take a letter out of his pocket and pre- 
sent it to you, and, as he is doing this, you must take this 
letter out of your pocket and give it to him. I charge 
you not to speak a word to him on peril of your life. It 
is important you observe this." 

The boy went to the house, and found but one man 
sitting in the corner of the room. He immediately began 
walking up and down the room, eying the man, who, the 
third time he passed him, put his hand into his pocket, 
took out a letter and gave it to his visitor, who gave him 
one in exchange, and left without a word. One night, 
however, the man whispered to Bancroft : 

" Tell General Washington that the British are com- 
ing out on the Neck to-morrow morning at two o'clock." 

When the boy brought this news Washington started, 
and, after reading the letter, took his hat and cane and 
went out, locking the door after him and leaving Ban- 
croft still in the room. When the commander returned, 
after an hour, he dismissed his messenger, telling him to 
stay about the camp and he would continue his pay. 



THE USE OF SPIES. 285 

It was necessary for Washington to keep up his knowl- 
edge of the enemy's movements, but he was very careful 
not to get his spies into trouble, lest they should share the 
fate of Nathan Hale. His plan usually was to get some 
man living in or near New York to send him information 
through a chain of friends who could be trusted. Usually 
the man wrote on the blank leaves of a book or an al- 
manac with a stain which was invisible until a certain 
chemical was applied to it. Sometimes he wrote a letter 
to a friend " a little in the Tory style," as Washington 
said, " with some mixture of family matters," while 
between the lines and on the remaining blank places 
he wrote his information in the invisible stain. If the 
letter were captured by the enemy there was nothing about 
it to excite suspicion. Rivington, a printer who published 
a paper in New York that supported the English cause 
with bitterness, is said to have been one of Washington's 
spies. He bound up information in the covers of books, 
and sold them to men who sent them to the American 
general. At the close of the war people were surprised 
that the Tory printer did not leave New York. When 
Washington made a visit to his shop, he took the general 
into a back room to show him some agricultural books, 
he said, but the door did not latch well, and the American 
officers in the outer shop heard the clink of gold passing 
between the American commander and the Tory printer. 
Gold, indeed, liad to be always forthcoming during the 
war to pay spies, though it could not be had for any other 
purpose. 

Soon after the capture of Andre, Washington, having 
heard that another American general was guilty of trea- 
21 . 



286 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

son, secretly directed a sergeant who was sent with a 
higher officer and a guard under a flag of truce into the 
British lines to desert, go into New York, and find out 
whether the rumor was true, after which he was to re- 
desert and join the army again. His superior officer was 
surprised to find him missing soon afterward, for he knew 
nothing of Washington's secret plan. The man came 
back with the news that the suspicions against the Ameri- 
can general were unfounded. 

Sometimes Washington made use of spies to send false 
information to the enemy. Once he wrote an ill-spelled 
letter in an ignorant style, which he caused to be copied 
in another hand than his, and sent into the English lines 
to convey an impression that he was in great force, Avhen 
this was far from being the case. Some sentences in this 
letter read : " The militia all ready to come out w^hen sig- 
nals is fired, which is pleaced in all places in Jersey. They 
seem very angry with the British, and curse them for 
keeping on the war. Many of them brag that the wold 
take revenge if they could but get a good opportunity and 
Gen. Wash, to back them. I can't say there's much dis- 
content among the sodgers, tho' their Money is so bad. 
They get plenty of provisions, and have got better does 
now than ever they had. They are very well off only for 
hatts. They give them a good deal of rum and whiskey, 
and this I suppose helps with the lies their officers are 
always telling them to keep up there spirits." 



A CHANGE OF PLANS. 28Y 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

A CHAI^GE OF PLAINS. 
1781. 

The year 1781 began with a mutiny in the American 
army. The men of the Pennsylvania regiments, who lay 
in winter quarters at Morristown, were dissatisfied, many 
of them having enlisted for three years or " during the 
war," and they held that this clause was meant to relieve 
them if the war should be over within three years, and not 
to detain them after the three years were up, as their offi- 
cers asserted. On New Year's day, when they had drunk 
too much rum, they suddenly mutinied. When General 
Wayne, who was their commander, cocked his pistols at 
them, they placed their bayonets at his breast, saying : 

" We love and respect you, but you are a dead man if 
you fire." They declared, however, that they were not 
going to the enemy, and that if the English were to come 
out they would fight under their general's orders. They 
killed two of their captains who tried to suppress the 
mutiny, and marched off toward Philadelphia, thirteen 
hundred strong, with all their arms and six cannons. 
General Wayne followed them and caused them to be 
supplied with provisions, so that they need not rob the 
people of the country. The English general. Sir Henry 
Clinton, as soon as he heard of this revolt, sent messen- 



288 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

gers to the mutineers, oSering to make up the back pay 
due them in the American army, and not to expect mili- 
tary service of them if they would join him. But the 
men said that they did not wish to " turn Arnolds," and 
delivered up to Wayne Clinton's messengers, who were 
afterward hanged as spies. A committee of Congress 
finally met the revolted soldiers, agreed to dismiss those 
whose three years were up, make up the pay of the others, 
and furnish them with the clothing they so much needed. 
They accepted these offers, and most of the Pennsylvania 
line was soon after discharged. Washington thought at 
first of going into New Jersey to try to quell the mutiny, 
but the men at his post were suffering for want of flour 
and clothing, and he dared not leave them lest they also 
should rise, and Clinton should take advantage of their 
disorder and sail up the river. But he quietly prepared 
to nip the next revolt in the bud, choosing a thousand 
trusty fellows for this purpose and holding them ready 
to march with four days' provisions. A mutiny soon 
broke out in the New Jersey troops at Pompton. Wash- 
ington immediately sent a body of six hundred of the 
picked men to the spot. The mutineers were taken by 
surprise and compelled to parade without their arms, 
while two of their ringleaders were shot. Many of the 
Pennsylvania and New Jersey men were Germans. Wash- 
ington said that the remainder of the troops, who were 
natives of America, would, he thought, " continue to 
struggle on " without more trouble. 

The difficulties of the commander in chief grew 
greater every year. The country was exhausted, and 
since France had become their ally the people were look- 



A CHANGE OF PLANS. 



289 



ing forward to peace without more exertion. Washing- 
ton felt that so long as the enemy kept cautiously to the 
seacoast he could do nothing without the aid of a power- 
ful fleet, and he said that the only reason America had not 
suffered more from the lack of a fleet was that the meas- 
ures of the English generals had been feeble and unwise. 
" We have got to the end of 
our tether," said Washington, 
and he declared that it was 
unreasonable to suppose that 
because a man had rolled a 
snowball till it was as large as 
a horse, that he might do so 
until it was as large as a 
house. " However," said he, 
" we must not despair, the 
game is yet in our hands," 
but he felt that the end was 
a long time in coming, and 
he panted for retirement, for 
home, and for a country life. 
For some years Washing- 
ton's favorite plan had been 
to attack and surround New 
York, and thus end the war 
with one grand blow. He had 
this plan very much at heart, 
said he, " into a wide and boundless field. A glorious ob- 
ject is in view, and God send we may attain it ! " But 
the army never launched. There was always some great 
obstacle. At one time there was not enough flour to sup- 




washington's uniform. 
[National Museum, Washington.] 

" We are now launching," 



290 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

port the men through a siege ; and though Washington 
had feared that the summer of 1780 would see the last 
efforts of dying liberty unless something were done to 
save the cause, the French refused to make an attempt 
on New York unless the French fleet were superior to the 
English, and Sir Henry Clinton should send away large 
enough detachments to weaken his forces in this city. 

During several years there had been a war going on 
in the South. Clinton sent out bodies of men and squad- 
rons of ships to the southAvard, hoping, since he could do 
nothing in the North with Washington on the watch, he 
might gain these States, and so turn the war in favor of 
Great Britain. Washington, too, sent from time to time 
portions of his small forces to protect the South, until he 
declared that if he sent any more men he should have to 
go himself, for want of an army to command. The Eng- 
lish took the town of Savannah in 1778, and in 1780 they 
captured the city of Charleston, after a siege in which 
General Lincoln and a small American army resisted 
the enemy to the last moment. General Gates was put 
in command of the Southern army by Congress, and 
was totally defeated at the battle of Camden, in South 
Carolina, in 1780. Although no Southern army worth 
mentioning was left, the people were still unsubdued. 
Bands of militia, under Sumter and Marion, stole about 
through the country, living often on roast potatoes, and 
plaguing the enemy whenever occasion offered. Wash- 
ington was now asked to send a general to the South. 
He chose General Greene, who had entered the army 
" one of the rawest of mortals," but had long been 
thought by Washington a very able officer. Greene had 



A CHANGE OP PLANS. 291 

been quartermaster general, but he had resigned this po- 
sition. " No one ever heard of a quartermaster general 
in history," he said. He willingly went South to take 
command of the mere remains of an army. The English 
were soon afterward beaten at the battle of the Cowpens, 
in South Carolina, where a body of English troops under 
Tarleton fought an American detachment under Morgan. 
Greene led Cornwallis a chase across North Carolina for 
two hundred miles, and then, when he had succeeded in 
joining other bodies of men to his little army, he fought 
the English general at Guilford Courthouse. The 
Americans were forced to retire from the field at the 
close of a day of hard fighting, but the army of Corn- 
wallis had been so badly cut up, and was in so much peril, 
that he was obliged to retreat to the seacoast, leaving the 
wounded behind. Cornwallis now thought to attempt 
the conquest of Virginia, and he joined the English 
troops already in this State. He was opposed by La- 
fayette, who had been sent to Virginia by Washington 
with a small body of men. The English general said, 
" The boy can not escape me," but the boy did, and 
Cornwallis, who had proved himself the most active 
and able of the British generals, now fortified himself 
at Yorktown, by the command of Sir Henry Clinton, 
that he might be able to receive any squadrons of 
the English fleet when they should come to the Chesa- 
peake, and act from this point against different parts 
of the State, by means of Virginia's numerous water 
ways. 

There is said to have been at first some jealousy be- 
tween the French and the Americans at Newport. The 



292 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 




WASHINGTON S SWORD, CARRIED DURING THE 
REVOLUTION. 

[Preserved, in the State Department.] 



French were proud and sliowy, the Americans shabby, 
half paid, and poorly fed. The French soldiers are re- 
ported to have vowed that they would act only under 
French officers. " What ! " said they, " a marshal of France 
subaltern to an American bucktail ? " But it had been 

agreed in France 
that Rochambeau 
was to act under 
Washington, and 
the two command- 
ers took great care 
to be very courte- 
ous to each other. 
When Washington 
went to Newport 
to consult with Ro- 
chambeau, the French troops were drawn up in lines to do 
him honor, and at a ball given by Rochambeau, at which 
Washington opened the first dance, called " A Successful 
Campaign," with a belle of the town, the French officers 
took the fiddles away from the musicians and played them- 
selves while the great American danced. Those people in 
the town who were too poor to own candles had candles 
given to them by the town council, so that every house 
should be illuminated in honor of the American general. 
On his return Washington was greeted at Providence by 
crowds of children carrying torches, and they thronged 
around him so closely that he could not move on. He 
pressed the hand of Count Dumas, a French officer who 
accompanied him, and said : 

" We may be beaten by the English — it is the 



A CHANGE OP PLANS. 293 

chance of war — but behold an army that they can never 
conquer ! " 

The French troops finally left Newport, where they 
had long been shut up " like an oyster in his shell," as a 
young Frenchman said, and joined Washington on the 
Hudson at Dobb's Ferry. The Frenchmen decorated 
their tents and amused themselves with making little gar- 
dens about them. The American and French officers 
sometimes gave banquets to one another, at which the 
tables were set in barns. 

At last the plan was to attack New York, if all went 
well. Washington knew that the Count de Grasse, who 
with a large French fleet was engaged in fighting the Eng- 
lish in the West Indies, was to bring more French forces 
to America in 1781, and to stop a short time on the coast 
of the United States to aid in anything the American 
commander might choose to undertake. Washington sent 
him a letter asking him to come to Sandy Hook and help 
in the capture of New York. The two armies lay for six 
weeks in the summer of 1781 at Dobb's Ferry, making 
ready for an attack. During this time Washington and 
Rochambeau, with engineers and a troop of dragoons, 
reconnoitered New York from the Hudson to the sound. 
As they moved calmly along making their observations 
they were cannonaded from the distant English works or 
from ships of war. Once they were on an island, on the 
coast of Long Island Sound, which was connected by a 
causeway with the mainland. While the engineers were 
making their observations and two small vessels in the 
sound were cannonading them, Washington and Rocham- 
beau lay down in the shade of a hedge and fell asleep. 



29i THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

When they awoke they found that the tide had risen and 
covered the causeway with water. Two small boats were 
brought, and the generals got into them, taking their sad- 
dles and bridles with them. When they had crossed, two 
dragoons took back the boats and brought off the rest of 
the party, a few at a time, swimming a horse over behind 
each boat and driving the rest of the horses into the water 
after them with the whip, so that they would be forced to 
follow. The French general admired American devices 
in such an emergency. 

Washington once moved his forces to within a few miles 
of Kingsbridge, which is the uppermost point of New 
York island ; but the English were very strongly forti- 
fied, and had fresh re-enforcements, while American re- 
cruits came in very slowly. It would not do to attempt 
New York until the French could be sure of a superior 
fleet. Washington felt that success either great or small, 
but success in some form, was necessary to save the coun- 
try, and he dared not risk a possible failure. At last, by 
the middle of August, came a letter from the Count de 
Grasse saying that he could spend but a few weeks in the 
United States, and that he would come to Chesapeake 
Bay. This spoiled Washington's plans, for New Y^ork 
could not be reduced in so short a time. But he had 
had another project in his mind for some time, and had 
secretly had an eye on Cornwallis, fortifying himself at 
Y^orktown. It is related that Washington was at the house 
of Van Brugh Livingston when he received the French 
admiral's letter. For a moment a cloud of disap^Doint- 
ment passed over his face ; then he turned to Peters, the 
Secretary of War : 



A CHANGE OF PLANS. 295 

" What can you do for me ? " he asked. 

" With money, everything," answered Peters ; " with- 
out it, nothing." 

Washington looked anxiously toward Robert Morris, 
who was Secretary of the Treasury. 

" Let me know the sum you desire," said Morris. It 
was finally arranged that Rochambeau was to loan Morris 
twenty thousand gold dollars, which he agreed to repay 
by the first of October. Some of this money was after- 
ward used to give the men a month's pay in gold, on their 
going South, lest the long-enduring soldiers should revolt 
on account of the hard march. 

As soon as Washington had changed his plans, he sent 
Lafayette word to place himself where he could prevent 
the escape of Oornwallis into North Carolina. Meanwhile 
it was of the utmost importance that Sir Henry Clinton 
should not suspect his designs, lest he should intercept 
the American army or send aid to Cornwallis. In order to 
deceive the English, Washington caused ovens to be built 
for baking bread in New Jersey, forage to be laid in, and 
the roads to be repaired toward Staten Island, so that the 
enemy might imagine that he was moving into New 
Jersey to attack New York from this point. To deceive 
Sir Henry Clinton further, he wrote a letter and sent it 
where it would be likely to be intercepted. He said in 
this letter that he feared Cornwallis would fortify York- 
town. He also wrote another letter, which contained a 
plan for attacking New York, and engaged a young Bap- 
tist preacher to carry it through Ramapo Clove. 

" There are cowboys there. I shall be taken if I go 
there," objected the messenger. 



296 THE STORY OF WASHllf^GTON. 

" Your duty, young man, is not to talk but to obey," 
said the general, with a stamp of the foot. The messen- 
ger was taken, as Washington wished, and the letter was 
printed in Rivington's Gazette in New York. The 
French and American armies crossed the Hudson and 
marched into New Jersey, still threatening New York, 
vvliile the men themselves had no idea where they were 
going. There were many bets in the army among officers 
and men as to where they were bound, so well did Wash- 
ington guard his secret. 



YORKTOWN. 297 



CHAPTER XLV. 

YORKTOWN. 

1781. 

From the time that lie started southward Washington 
was, as he said, "almost all impatience and anxiety." 
Success hung on movements from distant quarters, which 
might go wrong. The fleet from the West Indies must 
arrive in safety, and the other French men-of-war from 
Newport and ten transport ships loaded with the heavy 
ordnance necessary for the siege must escape the Eng- 
lish fleets which were on the watch for them. Corn- 
wallis, meantime, must not escape, and Sir Henry Clinton 
must not be given time to relieve him. All depended on 
concert, secrecy, and haste. Washington traveled post, 
and stopped at Mount Vernon on his way south. It was 
the first time that he had seen his home in six years. He 
was joined at Mount Vernon by the French officers, the 
Count de Rochambeau and the Marquis de Chastellux, 
and they all hurried on to Williamsburg, where Lafayette 
was stationed. 

The 28th of August found the Count de Grasse with 
his fleet at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, and the French 
and American armies at the head of the bay, waiting to 
be carried down by water. The Count de Grasse imme- 
diately blocked up the mouth of the York River, and sent 



298 THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

ships up the James River to prevent Cornwallis from 
escaping across this stream southward, and to carry three 
thousand West Indian soldiers whom he had brought with 
him to where they could join Lafayette. The English 
Admiral Graves, with a fleet of nineteen vessels of war, 
now sailed to Chesapeake Bay to attempt the rescue of 
Cornwallis. He found the Count de Grasse with a 
fleet of twenty-four sail riding within the capes, some- 
what short of hands, for many of the seamen were busy 
carrying the West Indians up the James River. The 
French admiral slipped his anchors and sailed out to 
meet the English fleet. But he avoided a severe battle, 
for his object was only to keep the English out of the 
Chesapeake. There was some fighting and much ma 
noeuvring for five days, and finally the English admiral 
was obliged to sail to New York for repairs. While the 
two hostile fleets had been facing each other, now this way 
and now that, the Count de Barras, who commanded the 
French fleet from Newport, which guarded the valuable 
ordnance ships, having sailed a long way round by the 
Bermuda Islands to avoid the enemy, slipj^ed safely into 
Chesapeake Bay. 

The Americans, meantime, politely sent the French 
soldiers down the bay in such ships and small craft as 
they could command, and marched themselves to Annap- 
olis, where they in turn were taken up on French ves- 
sels and carried to the scene of action. Washington went 
on board the Ville de Paris, lying within the chops of the 
capes, to visit the Count de Grasse and agree on plans for 
the siege. The French admiral, after the manner of his 
people, flew to meet the American commander, hugging 



YORKTOWN. 299 

and kissing him on each cheek, and calling him " my 
dear little general." Both the Count de Grasse and 
Washington were very tall men, and the American officers 
who were present were much amused, but controlled their 
smiles, excepting jolly, fat General Knox, who laughed 
aloud. 

The 28th of September, 1781, found the combined 
armies all before Yorktown. Washington slept under a 
mulberry tree, with its root for a pillow, on the first night. 
There were now about sixteen thousand of the French 
and Americans encamped in a semicircle about the little 
town, where the army of Cornwallis, numbering about 
seven thousand men, lay behind freshly made earthworks. 
The English general had also fortified Gloucester Point, 
which was opposite to Yorktown, so that he might com- 
mand the river. French seamen and American militia 
invested this point, so that Cornwallis was wholly sur- 
rounded. 

Sir Henry Clinton, in New York, when he discovered 
that Washington had completely fooled him and gone 
southward, sent Arnold into his own native State of Con- 
necticut, where he plundered and burned the flourishing 
town of New London, ruining many families in a few 
hours. But if the English general had hoped that this 
blow would cause Washington to return, he was deceived. 
Cornwallis had sent word to Clinton that he must either 
come to the relief of Yorktown or expect to hear the 
worst ; and Clinton began fitting up a large fleet for this 
purpose as quickly as possible. 

The second night after the arrival of the besiegers 
Cornwallis abandoned his outside works and drew his 



300 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

forces all into the town. The Americans and French im- 
mediately took possession of the abandoned works, while 
the English kept up a steady cannonade. On the night 
of the 6th of October a large body of Americans, carrying 
fascines, spades, and pickaxes on their shoulders, marched 
silently to within six hundred yards of Yorktown, followed 
by horses drawing cannon, and wagons loaded with sand- 
bags for quickly making defenses. These men during 
the night threw up an intrenchment nearly two miles in 
length, and morning found them well covered from the 
enemy's furious cannonade, which began with the day- 
light. The work went steadily on, and in three days can- 
non were mounted and batteries were ready to open on 
the town. Washington put the match to the first gun. 
This was immediately followed by a tremendous discharge 
of cannon and mortars. Earl Cornwallis had received his 
first salutation, as the Americans said. Two nights later 
the second parallel, as such trenches are called, was opened 
at three hundred yards from the enemy's lines. During 
this time the cannonade was very fierce on both sides. A 
red-hot shot set fire to several of the English ships which 
lay near Yorktown. The vessels burned in the night, the 
flames leaping high above their mastheads, while all around 
was the roar and flash of cannon and of shells flying back 
and forth from the besieged town like blazing comets 
with fiery tails. The English were forced to warp their 
vessels over to Gloucester Point. The surgeons were kept 
busy. Every now and then a man's leg or arm must be 
amputated or his wounds dressed ; the injuries were mainly 
from the bursting of shells. 

There were two redoubts held by the English outside 



YORKTOWN. 



301 



rFtpresenrsTr^nch 

■O J. fv r ) : . 



l/WRep 



!Rep reseats C n cjl is Ij 
epresents fftdfsf) 




CX^VtlTlJ^^ 




.beau -i. - - -p^T^-- - ' ' '* Y^'' 
if'cers* OrfilUrU ■"b^s ♦., ,,- ► 

MAP OF THE SIEGE OF YOKKTOWN. 

their main works which commanded the new parallel. 
On the night of the 14th of October Washington pre- 
pared to take these by assault. One was to be stormed by 
22 



302 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Lafayette's Americans, led by Colonel Alexander Hamil- 
ton, and the other was assigned to the French, commanded 
by the Baron de Viominel. The men of the two nations 
were ambitious each to show the greatest courage. At 
eight o'clock at night rockets were fired as a signal, so 
that the attacks might be made at the same moment upon 
the two redoubts. The Americans rushed forward, tore 
away part of the abatis with their own hands, and clam- 
bered over the rest without waiting for the sappers to re- 
move it in the usual manner. Hamilton, at the head of 
his men, climbed cfn the shoulder of one of his soldiers, 
who kneeled for the purpose, and mounted the enemy's 
works first of them all. The men rushed after him, and 
captured the redoubt at the point of the bayonet. The 
American surgeon was sent for almost before the balls 
from the guns of the English garrison in the redoubt had 
ceased whistling about his ears. As he entered the newly 
captured works he noticed that a sergeant and eight other 
Americaus lay dead in the ditch, and he found thirty 
wounded men within the little fort. As soon as the re- 
doubt had been taken, Lafayette sent an aid through the 
terrible fire of the whole British line to the Baron de Vio- 
minel with the message, " I am in my redoubt ; where are 
you?" 

The French officer was still waiting for his sappers to 
clear away the abatis in due form, but he said, " Tell the 
marquis I am not in mine, but will be in five minutes." 
And he was, though he lost many more men in killed and 
wounded than the Americans in consequence of the de- 
lay at the abatis. While the assault was going on the 
English kept up a very severe fire of cannon and mus- 



YORKTOWN. 303 

ketry along the whole line. Washington, with some of 
his officers and aids, dismounted and stood at an exposed 
spot waiting anxiously for the result. One of his aids, 
Colonel Cobb, said to him : 

" Sir, you are too much exposed here. Had you not 
better step a little back ? " 

" Colonel Cobb," answered Washington, " if you are 
afraid, you have liberty to step back." 

When the last redoubt was taken, he said : " The work 
is done, and well done. — Billy, hand me my horse." 

Cornwallis held out bravely. He hoped that aid 
would come to him from Sir Henry Clinton. Washing- 
ton, too, feared that something would happen to favor the 
English general. At one time De Grasse was on the 
point of leaving him to go in search of the English fleet, 
which he heard was approaching, and Washington had all 
he could do to persuade him to stay quietly in the Chesa- 
peake. He dreaded lest the French admiral should not 
remain long enough to complete the capture of Corn- 
wallis, and he pushed the siege as rapidly as possible. 
The fire was so severe that nearly all of the enemy's can- 
non were silenced. The English made a brave sortie on 
the 16th of October, and entered an American and a 
French battery, where they had barely time to thrust the 
points of their bayonets into the touchholes of some of the 
cannon and break them off before they were driven out. 
The bayonet points were soon removed. 

Cornwallis had his headquarters in the finest house in 
Yorktown, belonging to ex-Secretary Nelson, the father 
of Governor Nelson. Here he stayed until the building 
was almost a wreck. The steward of Cornwallis was finally 



304 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

killed by a cannon ball while carrying a soup tureen. The 
English general then moved to a house belonging to Gov- 
ernor Nelson, who led the Virginia militia in the siege. 
Lafayette, having just finished a battery, asked Nelson the 
best spot to fire upon. 

" There," said the governor, pointing to his own house. 
" It is mine, and, now that the secretary's is knocked 
down, is the best in the town, and there you will be almost 
certain to find Lord Cornwallis and the British head- 
quarters. Fire upon it, my dear marquis, and never spare 
a particle of my property so long as it affords a shelter to 
the enemies of my country." 

Two cannon were accordingly aimed at the building, 
and the very first shot is said to have gone through the 
house and killed two British officers. Cornwallis was 
now forced to move to a cave in the bank of the river, 
where two rooms were made for him, lined with boards 
and covered with baize. Sickness raged in Yorktown. 
Hundreds of the negroes who had been taken away from 
their masters by the English army died of camp fever 
and smallpox, and many of their bodies were left lying 
in the streets. The horses of the British legion, for 
which there was no food, were shot and thrown into the 
York River, where they filled the air with evil odors. On 
the night of October 16th Cornwallis made a desperate 
effort to escape. He tried to carry his army across the 
York River to Gloucester Point, where he meant to sally 
out, cut his way through the French and militia, and at- 
tempt a forced march to New York ; but a storm came 
on while the men were crossing, drove the boats down 
stream, and he was compelled to give up the rash project. 



YORKTOWN. 



305 



About one hundred pieces of heavy ordnance were 
now thundering from the works of the besiegers. The 
whole peninsula seemed to tremble with the cannonade. 
The defenses at Yorktown were almost beaten down, the 
English cannon were all silenced ; the besieged men 
could only throw shells, and their stock of shells was al- 
most exhausted. The Americans were so near that they 




THE MAIN STREET OF YORKTOWN. 

could distinctly see the havoc wrought by their own can- 
non. Sometimes mangled bodies were thrown into the air 
by the bursting of a shell. There was nothing left for 
Cornwallis but to surrender. On the morning of the 17th 
of October, only eight days after Washington had put the 
match to the first gun fired by the Americans, an Eng- 
lish drummer boy mounted the parapet and beat a parley. 
Hostilities ceased while terms were being agreed upon. 



306 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Washington refused the English generaPs first demands. 
When Cornwallis asked him what terms he would allow 
him, he answered that they should be the same that the 
English had allowed the American General Lincoln when 
he had surrendered Charleston to the English. Cornwallis 
delayed matters, and Washington, fearing that Sir Henry 
Clinton and a powerful fleet might come to the rescue, 
dreaded lest something should yet happen to cheat him 
of his victory. On the morning of the 19th of October, 
1781, he caused the rough draft of the articles of sur- 
render to be copied, and sent them to Cornwallis with 
the message that he expected them to be signed by eleven 
o'clock, and the English army to march out of Yorktown 
at two o'clock that very afternoon. Cornwallis could only 
submit. 

By two o'clock the victorious armies were drawn np in 
two parallel lines of more than a mile in length, the 
French on one side and the Americans on the other. 
The Americans looked as soldierly as possible, but their 
shabby and ill-matched clothes did not compare well 
with the fine French uniforms. Washington charged his 
men not to insult their fallen enemy by huzzaing or 
shouting.- " Posterity," said he, " will huzza for us." 
Before leaving Yorktown Cornwallis caused each of his 
men to be given a suit of new regimentals. At two 
o'clock the English army marched out of their works, 
their colors cased and their drums beating The World 
turned upside Down. The victorious men looked eagerly 
for Lord Cornwallis, but General O'Hara led the Eng- 
lish army instead. He apologized for the absence of 
his commander, saying that he was ill. Cornwallis, in- 



YORKTOWN. 307 

deed, who was the only one of the English generals that 
had shown great spirit and ability, was very bitterly dis- 
appointed. His brave men shared in his feelings, and 
they had a sullen look and shuffled along in an irregular 
manner. They could not bear to turn their eyes toward 
the right, where their shabby American conquerors stood, 
but looked toward the left, where the French were gay in 
their fine uniforms. Lafayette, who was among the 
Americans, at the head of his " darling light infantry," 
whose nakedness he had covered at his own expense with 
shirts and linen overalls, wishing them to see his fine 
fellows, ordered the band to " strike up Yankee Doodle, 
and this brought the eyes to the right. They did look at 
us," he said, " but they were not very well pleased." 

The English marched to an open field, where they 
laid down their arms in the presence of General Lincoln, 
as his men had laid theirs down at Charleston only the 
year before. The English soldiers threw down their 
guns as though they meant to break them, but a word 
from General Lincoln put a stop to this. There was, in- 
deed, much bitter feeling between the Americans and the 
English. The English and French officers showed great 
friendliness after the surrender, but the Americans and 
English had as little to do with each other as possible. 
Many American planters assembled at the surrender of 
Yorktown to claim property taken away from them by 
the army of Cornwallis. The English colonel, Tarleton, 
who had made himself very much hated in the South, was 
one day riding a fine horse on his way to dine with some 
French officers. He was stopped by a planter, who 
claimed the horse he was on. Tarleton hesitated, but 



308 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

General O'Hara, who was present, said, " You had better 
give him the horse, Tarleton." The proud young officer 
was forced to dismount and appear at the French quar- 
ters on a miserable animal. 

Five days after the taking of Yorktown Sir Henry 
Clinton reached the Chesapeake with a large English 
fleet, hoping to relieve Cornwallis, but when he found 
that he was too late he returned to Xew York. Wash- 
ington had fairly outgeneraled Clinton. The skill and 
quickness with which he had planned the siege of York- 
town and brought it to a successful end were the admi- 
ration of men in America and in Europe. Henceforth 
no one doubted that he was a great general. He would 
have liked very much to follow this grand success by the 
capture of Charleston, but the Count de Grasse declined 
to remain any longer on the coast of the United States. 
The fall of Yorktown, however, soon caused the English 
to abandon all that they had conquered in the South, and 
draw their forces together in and about New York island. 
After seven years of hard fighting they possessed only this 
one spot in the whole of the United States. 

There was great rejoicing all over America when the 
news of the victory was spread abroad. At Philadelphia 
an express rider reached the city about three o'clock on 
the morning of the 22d of October with the intelligence, 
and an old German watchman went about the town shout- 
ing, " Basht dree o'clock, and Cornwallis isht daken ! " 
There was a public celebration two days later, when an 
aid of Washington's arrived with more certain news. 
The windows of the houses of Tories who refused to 
illuminate were smashed, and their furniture broken, until 



YORKTOWN. 309 

their neighbors saved further destruction by running in 
and placing candles at the windows, upon which the mob 
moved away appeased. 

Among the anecdotes told of the siege of Yorktown, 
there are some which show that Washington, as usual, was 
perfectly fearless. A chaplain who was standing by his 
side once had his hat covered with sand by a ball which 
struck the ground near them. " See here, general," said 
he, taking off his hat in an agitated manner. 

" Mr. Evans," answered Washington coolly, " you had 
better carry that home and show it to your wife and 
children." 

Another time, when a musket ball struck a cannon 
near him and glanced at his feet, Knox grasped his arm 
and said : 

" My dear general, we can not spare you yet." 

" It is a spent ball ; no harm is done," answered Wash- 
ington calmly. 

A more amusing story is told of Baron Steuben, who, 
to avoid a shell about to explode, threw himself into the 
trench. In the confusion of the moment. General Wayne, 
who was a brigadier under Steuben, fell on top of him. 
" Ah," said the baron, looking up, " I always knew you 
were brave, general, but I did not know you were so per- 
fect in every point of duty. You cover your general's 
retreat in the best manner possible." 

After the surrender of Yorktown a grand dinner was 
given at headquarters to the officers of the three armies. 
Washington gave " The British army " for a toast, and 
made a speech, in which he complimented Cornwallis and 
his men. Cornwallis replied in a handsome manner, say- 



310 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

ing that the war was really at an end — which was true. 
Before the Count de Grasse sailed away from the Chesa- 
peake Washington presented him with two handsome 
horses. The one which he rode himself at the surrender 
of Yorktown he never mounted again. He was a chest- 
nut, with white face and legs, and was named Nelson, 
He lived for many years at Mount Vernon. 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 



311 



CHAPTER XLVI. 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 

1781-1789. 

Washington's stepson, John Parke Cnstis, then a 
young man of twenty-eight, served as one of his aids at 
the battle of York- 
town, and was taken 
with the camp fever, 
which raged so badly 
in the beleaguered 
town. Though he 
was already ill, he in- 
sisted on being sup- 
ported to the field to 
see the surrender of 
Cornwallis. But he 
grew rapidly worse, 
and was removed to 
the home of his moth- 
er's sister, Mrs. Bas- 
sett, at Eltham. His 
wife and mother were 
sent for, and they 

traveled to Eltham in a carriage, with a nurse and the 
two youngest children of the sick man. Washington 




(iEUKGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 

I From a painting' owned by General G. W. 

^ C. Lee.] 



312 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



also rode all night to reach Eltham, and was there in 
time to see Mr. Custis die. He shed tears over his step- 
son's death, and told 
his young widow that 
he would adopt the 
two youngest of her 
four children as his 
own. These children 
were Eleanor Parke 
Custis, who was two 
years old, and George 
Washington Parke 
Custis, a baby of six 
months. 

After the funeral 
of his stepson, Wash- 
ington went to Fred- 
ericksburg with a 
brilliant suite of offi- 



cers, among whom 
were many French- 
men. When he had 
arrived at the town he went alone to his mother's house 
to make her a visit. The old lady was busy about some 
household work. There was a ball given in the evening, 
to which Washington's mother was invited. She re- 
marked that " her dancing days were pretty well over," 
but agreed to go. The French officers were surprised to 
see Washington enter the ballroom with an old lady, 
plainly dressed, upon his arm. They also wondered that 
Mrs. Washington took her son's great success so calmly. 




ELEANOR PARKE CUSTIS. 

[From a pastel owned by Gen. G. W. C. Lee. 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 313 

The general danced the minuet at this ball for the last 
time in his life, it is said, for, though he afterward walked 
through dances at balls given in his honor, he did not 
take the step. Early in the evening AVashington's mother 
remarked that it was time for old folks to be in bed, and 
left the room on her son's arm. 

Though the siege of Yorktown was the last great ac- 
tion of the war, it was by no means certain for some time 
that it would 

be followed by %!^^:...t -v.,," 

peace. Washing- ^^-..^j^- 

ton urged Con- 
gress to keep up >" .' 
the army, lest -^~ ' 
the prospect of ^ ^r 



%^ 



^52. 



.rf*^= 



MRS. WASHINGTON'S RESIDENCE AT FREDERICKSBURG. 



peace should fail, ^_^^^ ^ '-'' ^mt^^ 

and also because 
America would 
be more certain 
of getting fair 

terms were she known to be well prepared for war. He 
would still have liked very much to expel the enemy 
from New York, but his army remained small, poorly fed, 
ill clad, and unpaid. When the Count de Grasse was 
defeated in the West Indies during the winter Washing- 
ton feared the English would take heart once more, but 
they remained quietly in New York, having withdrawn 
all their forces from the south. Washington encamped 
in the Highlands again, and nothing occurred except a 
few skirmishes. In the fall of 1782 the French army 
sailed away from America. There was so much prospect 



314 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



of peace in the winter of 1782-'83 that Washington would 
have made a visit to Mount Vernon, but he dared not 
leave, for " the temper of the army " was, as he said, " very 
much soured." At one time the men had " long been 
without anything which their own thriftiness could not 




Washington's headquarters at newburgh in 1Y82-'83. 



procure them," and again he declared that the States did 
not seem to think it necessary to give the army " any- 
thing but hard knocks." The officers were particularly 
discontented. A colonel's pay was at one time worth 
about four dollars a month in gold, and the officers could 
not get even the depreciated money due them, and were 
forced to draw rations to live on, like common soldiers. 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 315 

and to spend their own private fortunes to get decent 
clothes. The country was well able to pay its army, but 
Congress was too weak to enforce any law by which means 
could be raised for this purpose, and the States were too 
jealous of one another to contribute what was due from 
each of them. At one time the officers got one of their 
number to propose, in a letter to the commanding general, 
that he should make himself king, and so give to America 
the advantages of a strong government. Washington 
promptly refused, saying that nothing which had hap- 
pened during the war had given him more pain than this 
proposal, which, he said, was " big wdth the greatest mis- 
chiefs " which could befall his country. 

When the officers of the army applied to Congress to 
have their accounts settled, their entreaties were disre- 
garded. They finally grew discontented and rebellious, 
and a paper was circulated among them which appealed 
to their wounded feelings in a very dangerous way, and 
appointed a meeting of the officers of the army on the fol- 
lowing day. Washington immediately took the matter in 
hand, changed the meeting to a later day, and talked with 
each officer alone. When the day for the meeting came 
he attended it himself. He apologized for being there, 
and said that he had written an address to his brother 
officers which he would like to read to them. He read a 
little, then stopped and took out his spectacles, asking the 
officers to excuse him while he did this, telling them "that 
he had grown gray in their service, and now found him- 
self growing blind." There were tears in almost every 
eye, and when Washington finished reading the paper, in 
which he urged them to patience for the sake of their own 



316 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

honor, and left the room, the officers passed resolutions of 
affection for him and of faith in the justice of Congress. 
This incident shows Washington's great tact in managing 
men. 

The first certain news of peace was sent to America in 
the spring of 1783 by Lafayette, who had returned to 
France. It came in a French vessel called the Triumph. 
The army was disbanded gradually, for it was thought 
dangerous to let loose suddenly a large body of unpaid 
soldiers. Some new levies, indeed, mutinied, marched 
into Philadelphia with fixed bayonets, surrounded the 
Statehouse, and kept the members of Congress prisoners 
for three hours, after which Congress fled to Trenton. 
Washington immediately sent faithful men on to put a 
stop to siich proceedings. 

It was the 25th of November, 1783, before the 
English turned their backs upon New York. As they 
left the posts about the city the remnant of Washington's 
array marched in and took possession. The Americans 
were close on the heels of their old enemies, as the latter 
moved slowly toward the water, and officers of both 
armies chatted together in a friendly manner when they 
halted. Having seen the English all embark, the Ameri- 
can troops headed for the Battery. The cannon had been 
toppled off the walls of the fort by the British in the 
haste of leaving, and they had unreefed the halyards of 
the tall flagpole and greased it so that the American flag 
might not be hoisted. After some time, however, a young 
soldier managed to climb the slippery pole, reef the hal- 
yards, and run up the Stars and Stripes amid the shouts 
of the crowd. 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 



317 



Washington looked worn but happy. Now and then 
he would mention some officer who was dead, and wish 
that he had lived to " see the glorious end " of the strug- 




MOUNT VERNON, LOOKING TOWARD THE RIVER. 

gle. On the 4th of December he bade his officers good- 
by in Fraunces's Tavern. Filling a glass, after the cere- 
monious fashion, of the time, he said : 

" With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take 
leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days 
may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have 
been glorious and honorable. I can not come to each of 
you and take my leave, but shall be obliged to you, if 
each of you will come to me and take me by the hand." 

General Knox, who stood nearest, was the first to take 
23 



318 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

his commander's hand. The tears ran down Washing- 
ton's face as he grasped the hand of his old comrade 
in arms in silence and kissed him, and he bade one and 
another of them farewell in the same hearty fashion 
as they crowded about him. He then left the room, pass- 
ing through the light infantry which was drawn up out- 
side of the tavern, and walked to the river, followed by 
his officers, who looked dejected and mournful. Wash- 
ington got into a boat, and, waving his hat to his old 
friends, moved away for the Jersey shore. He journeyed 
to Annapolis, where Congress was then sitting, and, resign- 
ing his commission, " got translated into a private citi- 
zen," as he said, and returned to Mount Vernon. He and 
Mrs. Washington reached home the day before Christmas. 
The old valet, Bishop, now over eighty, stood in the door 
of his cottage to salute them, dressed in the scarlet regi- 
mentals he had worn at Braddock's defeat. Washington 
entered his own doors, as he said, nine years older than 
when he had left them. The Mount Vernon servants 
made a great racket in honor of Christmas eve and of 
their master's home-coming. 

It was some time before Washington could overcome 
the habit of thinking, when he first waked in the morn- 
ing, of the business of the day and realize that he was re- 
lieved of his heavy burdens. He came home, as he said, 
with empty pockets, for he had taken nothing from Con- 
gress except his expenses, and his estates had not been 
profitable during his absence. He began a planter's life 
again with fresh interest. He left off growing tobacco in 
a great measure, for tobacco exhausted the soil, and he 
began planting his fields to crops by rotation, trying thus 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 



319 



to find a better way of farming than the one to which he 
had been brought up. He was very much interested, too, 
in introducing mules into the South. The King of Spain 
sent him two asses for breeding purposes, and he had soon 



^>:^/ii 



w^ 



X 



i>S# 




BANQUET HALL, ADDKI) TO MOUNT VERNON BY WASHINGTON. 



raised a great many mules, of which he was so proud that 
he thought of using them in place of carriage horses. 
Washington took much interest in his kennels. La- 



320 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



fayette sent him some hounds from France. Mrs. Wash- 
ington was not very fond of these great animals, espe- 
cially when one of them was found to have made away 
with the ham which had been boiled for dinner. Wash- 








POHICK CHURCH, NEAR MOUNT VERNON, PLANNED BY WASHINGTON. 



ington rode a horse named Blueskin when he went hunt- 
ing, and it was his pride that when his hounds were in 
full cry they stood so close together that they could have 
been covered with a blanket. But he was growing old, 
and in 1785 he went on his last hunt. After this he gave 
away his dogs and turned his kennel into a deer park. 
Washington felt, as did others of the great Virginians 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 321 

of his day, that slavery was wrong, and he resolved to buy 
no more negroes. His mind was wonderfully active and 
practical. Before leaving the army he had visited Lake 
George and the northern part of New York State and 
planned a water way between the Great Lakes and the 
Hudson — a plan which was afterward realized in the Erie 
and Champlain Canals. He also made a journey to the 
Ohio Kiver after he had left the army, and projected 
the improving and opening of water ways between Vir- 
ginia and the Ohio. Two companies were formed at his 
suggestion for this purpose, called the Potomac and 
James River Companies, and the State of Virginia pre- 
sented him with a number of shares in each company. 
But Washington was always unwilling to accept anything 
which might be regarded in the light of a reward for his 
patriotism, and agreed to keep these shares only on condi- 
tion that he should be allowed to use them for a chari- 
table purpose. He reminded the Virginia Legislature that 
at entering on command at the beginning of the war he 
had taken, as he said, "a firm resolution to shut my 
hand against every pecuniary recompense." He inter- 
ested himself also in a boat made by Rumsey, one of the 
early experimenters in steam navigation. 

Washington's house was now, as he said, " like a well- 
resorted tavern." Every traveler coming from North or 
South must make the great man a visit, while many dis- 
tinguished Americans and foreigners came from afar to 
see him. He was flooded with letters from all over the 
country. Often they were from men who had been in 
the army and wished him to certify to some fact, and he 
was forced to go over his numerous papers in order to an- 



322 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



swer them. He said that he liked to write to friends, but 
that it was not so easy to write letters which required 
" researches, consideration, recollection, and the d — 1 
knows what to prevent error." After a time he got a 
secretary, who was to answer his letters and teach Mrs. 
Washington's grandchildren, Nelly and W^ashington, as 
they were called. The little boy was now a beautiful 







INTERIOR OF POHICK CHURCH AS IT APPEARED IN WASHINGTON'S TIME. 

child, and he might sometimes be seen standing beside 
his adopted father, grasping with his little hand one of 
Washington's immense fingers. 

The great general was asked to sit many times for his 
portrait. " At first," said he, " I was as impatient at the 
request and as restive under the operation as a colt is of 
the saddle. The next time I submitted very reluctantly, 



THE END OF THE WAR AKD AFTER. 323 

but with less flouncing. Now no dray horse moves more 
readily to his thill than I to the painter's chair." Yet he 
never enjoyed sitting for his portrait, and the painter 
Stuart tells how his face expressed discontent. The art- 
ist, to divert him, began to talk about horses, whereupon 
the general's face became animated with interest. 

During the years in which Washington was at home, 
quietly leading the life of a farmer, to the admiration of 
men in Europe, who wondered that a great conqueror 
should not seek to aggrandize himself, the affairs of the 
country were going very badly. Congress was becoming 
more and more feeble, now that the States were not fright- 
ened by the war into some sort of respect for it. Wash- 
ington watched everything from his home, calmly but 
anxiously. He wrote to his old friend George Fairfax, 
in England, that the States, " like young heirs " come a 
little early into a large inheritance, " would probably riot 
for a while," but he thought that this would " work its 
own cure, as there's virtue at the bottom." He said that 
" democratic States must feel before they can see," and 
the American people had to feel for some time the need 
of a strong government before they would consent to have 
one. When Wasbington was at last made one of the dele- 
gates to a convention for forming a constitution, he went 
unwillingly, not wishing to be drav/n away from a private 
life. The convention met in Philadelphia in the spring 
of 1787, and sat for four months. Washington was chosen 
president of this body. He might be seen in those days 
walking alone to the Statehouse, dressed in a plain blue 
coat and cocked hat, and with his hair powdered. He 
seemed to be " pressed down with thought." Franklin, 



324 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

who was now a very old and very stout man, had to be 
brought every day to the hall of Congress in a Sedan chair 
by " a posse of men." When, after the long four months 
of debate, the Constitution was finally signed, Franklin 
said to those about him, pointing to a sun painted behind 
the chair in which Washington sat as president of the 
convention : " I have often and often, in the course of the 
session and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its 
issue, looked at that sun behind the president without be- 
ing able to tell whether it Avas rising or setting ; at length 
I have the happiness to know it is a rising, and not a set- 
ting, sun." 

The Constitution was not to be in force until nine 
of the thirteen States should accept it. There was a 
very strong party opposed to it, and it was nearly a year 
before nine of the States accepted it, and about three 
years before the last of the thirteen — Rhode Island — 
finally joined the other States under this new govern- 
ment. Washington knew that he was likely to be elected 
President, and his friends tried to persuade him to ac- 
cept the office, but he said that he felt " a sort of 
gloom " whenever he thought that he would have to de- 
cide about it. He was unanimously elected in 1789, John 
Adams being chosen as Vice-President. Washington 
had many misgivings. He said that his "feelings on 
moving to the chair of government " Avould be like 
'' those of a culprit who is going to the place of his exe- 
cution." 

Before leaving Virginia the new President-elect went 
to see his mother, who was now very old, and suffering 
from a cancer of the breast. He had long given her 






"^^t" ^ 



^- JiV*, ^ 





MARV WASHINGTON S HOI SE AT FREDERICKSBUKG, AS IT IS AT PRKSEN' 

[View from the garden, looking toward the old dining-room.] 



THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER. 325 

money toward her support, but sometimes the old lady 
seems to have been troublesome, and to have made unrea- 
sonable demands upon him or talked in a complaining 
way to others. Before the war ended it was proposed 
that the Legislature of Virginia should give her a pen- 
sion. Washington was pained, lest it should be said 
that he did not provide for his mother. He wrote to his 
brother, John Augustine, asking him to hint delicately 
to their mother that she should not complain too much 
about the hardness of the times, and so seem to be in 
need. At another time he wrote to her advising her to 
live with one of her children, but saying that he could 
not take her to live with him, since there were always 
visitors in the house, and that she must either be chang- 
ing her dress continually, which would not be pleasant to 
her, or appear in deshabille^ which would not be pleasant 
to him, or keep her room, which would be unpleasant for 
both of them. Evidently Mary Washington's habits were 
very simple. When Lafayette visited America after the 
war, he went with one of her grandsons to visit Washing- 
ton's mother. The boy pointed to an old woman in 
homespun, wearing a broad straw hat and gathering up 
refuse in her garden. 

" There, sir, is my grandmother," said he. 

" Ah, marquis," said Mrs. Washington, " you see an 
old woman ; but come in, I can make you welcome to my 
poor dwelling without the parade of changing my dress." 

When Lafayette talked to her about her son's great- 
ness, she merely said, " I am not much surprised at what 
George has done ; he was always a good boy." 

There is no doubt that Washington loved his mother. 



326 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

When he went to see her before becoming President, he 
told her that the people had chosen him for this high 
office, and that he would come to see her again as soon 
as possible. But she said, " You will see me no more," 
and told him that she was sure she would not live 
long. Washington, it is said, laid his head upon her 
shoulder and wept while she clasped him in her arms for 
the last time. 



WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 327 



CHAPTER XLVIL 

WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 

1789-1797. 

With many misgivings, Washington started on horse- 
back for New York, where he was to be inaugurated. 
But everywhere as he traveled he was met by crowds of 
people, who did him honor in the most extravagant man- 
ner. At Philadelphia, as he passed under an arch, a 
young man, aided by some machinery, let a civic crown of 
laurel down upon his head. At Trenton, the bridge over 
the Assanpink was decorated with a triumphal arch sup- 
ported by thirteen pillars, and bearing the inscription, 
" The Defender Of The Mothers Will Be The Protector 
Of The Daughters." Here Washington was met by a 
party of matrons, leading their daughters, dressed in 
white. The young girls strewed flowers and sang an ode 
to Washington. He crossed from Elizabeth town Point, 
in New Jersey, to New York in a fine barge rowed by 
thirteen sea captains, attended by a great display of 
boats and vocal and instrumental music, ships were deco- 
rated, cannon roared, and the crowds which covered the 
New York docks shouted in his honor. These things 
made Washington sad, for he thought how all this might 
be changed if the people became displeased with his acts 
as President. 



328 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



Washington took the oath of office on the 30th day of 
April, 1789, in the open gallery in the front of Federal 
Hall, which stood at the head of Broad Street. He was 
dressed in a suit of dark-brown cloth and wore white silk 
stockings, all of American manufacture. In the gallery 




^'"t^' 



h0i' 






"^'{f 







'i^.m 



FEDERAL HALL. 



[From a water-color drawincr made in 1798 by Robinson. New York 
Historical Society.] 



with him were Vice-President Adams, Generals Knox, St. 
Clair, Steuben, and other officers, Governor Clinton, of 
New York, and Richard Henry Lee. Otis, who was Secre- 
tary of the Senate, held a Bible on a crimson cushion, and 
Chancellor Livingston read the oath of office. Washing- 
ton then said " I swear," bowed to kiss the Bible, raised 
his head, and with closed eyes added, " So help me God." 



WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 329 

" It is done," said Livingston. " Long live George 
Washington, President of the United States ! " and the 
crowd took up the shout. The first to shake hands with 
Washington was Lee, the " Dickey " of his boyhood 
friendship. The newly made President then gave an 
inaugural speech before the Houses of Congress, and 
went on foot to St. Paul's Church, where prayers were 
read by the bishop. 

Mrs. Washington made the journey to New York in 
the latter part of May, with her two grandchildren, Nel- 
lie and Washington. She, too, was dressed in clothes of 
American manufacture, and was received everywhere 
with great honors. The President first rented a house at 
No. 3 Cherry Street, but as this was not large enough, and 
the high headdresses of the ladies of the day were apt to 
graze the chandeliers, the plumes of one belle even catch- 
ing fire, he moved to a larger house on Broadway, for 
which he paid twenty-five hundred dollars rent. This 
seems little enough now, but it was thought a very ex- 
travagant rent in those days. 

As the presidency was a new office and there were no 
customs, everything had to be settled as to the proper 
forms. Washington liked a certain amount of dignified 
ceremonial. There was much discussion as to how the 
President should be addressed. One day when this was 
being talked of at a dinner which he gave at his house, 
Washington said to one of his guests : 

" Well, General Muhlenberg, what do you think of the 
title of High Mightiness ? " 

" Why, general," answered Muhlenberg, " if we were 
always sure that the office would be held by men as large 



330 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



as yourself, or my friend Wynkoop," alluding to another 
tall man present, " it would be appropriate enough ; but 
if, by chance, a President as small as my opposite neighbor 
should be elected, it would become ridiculous." 




THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE IN CHERRY STREET 



Every one laughed except Washington, who did not 
enjoy the joke. 

As he found it impossible to receive calls at those 
hours of the day when he should be attending to busi- 
ness, Washington appointed certain days for levees. Jef- 
ferson tells how, at his first levee, Colonel Humphreys, 
who was a sort of master of ceremonies, when the com- 
pany had assembled, preceded Washington from the ante- 
room, and, when the door of the inner room had been 



WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 331 

thrown open, announced in a loud voice, " The President 
of the United States." Washington was so disconcerted 
by this ceremony that he afterward said to Humphreys, 
" You have taken me in once, but you shall never take me 
in a second time." At his levees Washington wore a suit 
of black velvet, black silk stockings, and silver shoe and 
knee buckles. His hair was powdered and tied behind in 
a black bag ; he wore yellow gloves, and a dress sword in a 
white leathern scabbard, while he held in his hand his 
cocked hat edged with black feathers. When the guests 
had assembled the President entered, and walked round 
the room greeting each one in turn, without, however, 
shaking hands. At Mrs. Washington's receptions, when 
he considered himself only a private gentleman, he dressed 
in a brown cloth suit with bright buttons, wore no sword, 
and moved among the guests, talking freely. 

There were people who criticised Washington's cere- 
monies. They thought his levees were too much like 
those of a king, and were shocked because people were re- 
quired to stand on these occasions. The fact was that 
the room in which they were held would not have con- 
tained a third part of the chairs necessary to seat the 
guests. There was a cxiricature printed of Washington's 
entry into New York which represented him as riding on 
an ass, led by Humphreys, Avho was singing hosannas in 
his praise. But foreigners who visited his house thought 
the manner of his life very simple. One noticed that 
he dined on a boiled leg of mutton, eating only of one 
dish, and that after dessert a single glass of wine was 
served to each guest, after which Washington rose and 
led the way to the drawing-room. Another visitor said 
24 



332 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

that everything about the house had an air of simplicity. 
Mrs. Washington's receptions broke up before nine 
o'clock. " The general," said this lady, " always retires 
at nine, and I usually precede him." It must not be 




CUP AND SAUCER. 

[From a set presented to Mrs. Washington by Van Braam or Lafayette. 
National Museum, Washington, D. C] 

forgotten, however, that the hours kept in that day were 
earlier than those of later times. The plays at the 
theater began at six and were over before nine. 

Washington made the tavern keeper Fraunces, or 
Black Sam, as he was often called, his steward. Al- 
though he entertained a great deal, seldom sitting down 



WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 333 

to the table without guests, and spent a part of his own 
private fortune, as well as his salary of twenty-five thou- 
sand a year, while he was President, he still made an 
effort to enforce economy in his house, and kept a very 
careful account of his expenses, so that he could, as he 
said, tell at least what he lost and how he lost it. He had 
a hard time with Fraunces, who had his own notions as to 
how a President of the United States should live. The 
steward once bought a fine shad at the Vly Market. It 
was served the next morning at breakfast, and Washing- 
ton asked what kind of a fish it was. 

" A shad," answered Fraunces. 

" It is very early in the season for shad," said the 
President. " How much did you pay for it ?" 

" Two dollars," replied the steward. 

" Two dollars ! " exclaimed Washington. " I can 
never encourage such extravagance at my table. Take it 
away; I will not touch it." 

Fraunces carried the shad out, and afterward made a 
good meal of it in his own room. It is said that Wash- 
ington usually had a scene with his steward once a week, 
when accounts were settled. Fraunces would leave the 
room with tears in his eyes, saying : " Well, he may dis- 
charge me, he may kill me, if he will, but while he is 
President of the United States, and I have the honor to 
be his steward, his establishment shall be supplied with 
the very best the country can afford." 

Washington ^chose his Cabinet with great care. He 
made John Jay, a very pure and high-minded man. Chief 
Justice. General Henry Knox, who had begun life a 
bookseller in Boston, and who had become an important 



334 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



major general in charge of the Eevohitionary artillery, 
was already Secretary of War, and Washington kept him in 
this office. For the Treasury Department he chose Alex- 
ander Hamilton, a young man of much ability and force. 

He was a native of the 
West Indies, sent to New 
York for his education. 
Washington first saw 
Hamilton at the passage 
of the Raritan in the 
flight through New Jer- 
sey, in 1776. He noticed 
the courage of a young ar- 
tillery officer who was di- 
recting a battery against 
the enemy's advanced col- 
umns, which were press- 
ing the Americans hard. 
Washington inquired the 
name of this young man. It proved to be Hamilton, and 
he made him one of his aids. For Secretary of State 
Washington chose Thomas Jefferson, a man who pos- 
sessed a mind of the very first order. Edmund Ran- 
dolph was made Attorney-General. 

The President had been but a few months in office 
when he was seized with a serious illness known as an- 
thrax. A tumor was removed, and for some time he was 
so dangerously ill that a chain was stretched across the 
street to keep wagons from passing his house. During 
this time his mother died, at the age of eighty- two. 
Washington was twice very ill during the early years of 




CASE OF SILVEK-HANDLED KNIVES AND 
FORKS BELONGING TO WASHINGTON. 

[National Museum, Washington, D. C] 



WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 335 

his presidency, and he thought that confinement to busi- 
ness was bad for the health of one who had passed most 
of his days in the saddle. In order to get exercise and 
change, and to bind the States together by friendly feel- 
ings for their Government, he was accustomed to make 
journeys through the country when Congress was not in 
session, and he sometimes spent his summers at Mount 
Vernon. On his tours he was loaded with honors which 
were often so extravagant as to be a little ridiculous. 
Hymns were sung in his praise in which he was called 
" Columbia's Savior." It was common for him to be 
greeted with shouts of " Long live George Washington ! " 
or " God bless your reign ! " Buttons were worn bearing 
his initials and the motto, " Long live the President ! " On 
his Southern tour, he was at one time conveyed in a richly 
decorated boat, rowed by sea captains dressed in light- 
blue silk jackets, black satin breeches, white silk stock- 
ings, and hats bound with bands of black ribbon on which 
were the words " Long live the Presideut " in golden let- 
ters. Ladies wore sashes with his portrait and the same 
motto painted on them. At a ball which Washington 
attended the women all carried fans, imported from Paris, 
decorated with his portrait. He seems to have wearied of 
all this worship. On his journeys to and from Mount 
Vernon he tried to avoid being known. He sent a 
courier ahead to engage rooms, charged to let no one but 
the landlord know of his coming. Usually, however, the 
news leaked out, a trumpet was sounded, crowds gathered, 
and the village cannon w^as fired. An old artillery officer, 
who was several times cheated of his cannonade by Wash- 
ington's traveling in secret, said : " He shall not serve 



336 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



me so again. I'll warrant that my matches will be found 
lighted next time." On his New England tour he was 
introduced to Mr. Cleaveland, the minister of the town, 
who stood before the great man with his head uncov- 
ered. 

" Put on your hat, parson, and I will shake hands with 
you," said Washington. 

" I can not wear my hat in your presence, general," 
answered the minister, " when I think of what you have 
done for this country." 

" You did as much as I did," answered the President. 
" No, no," exclaimed the parson. 

" Yes," said Washington, " you did what you could, 
and I've done no more." 

When Washington Avas on a tour in 1790, a tavern on 
Long Island was thrown into 
a great commotion by the news 
of the President's approach, 
and a grand supper was pre- 
pared for him. What was the 
astonishment of the negro serv- 
ants in the kitchen when the 
great man ordered mush and 
milk for his repast. 

Once Washington sent a 
present to some country girls 
whom he saAV on his travels, 
with this pretty letter to their 
father : " Sir : Being informed 
that you have given my name to one of your sons, and 
called another after Mrs. Washington's family, and being, 




WATER-MARK FROM PAPER USED 
BY WASHINGTON DURING HIS 
PRESIDENCY. 

[Kindness of Dr. Toner.] 



WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. 337 

moreover, much pleased with the modest and innocent 
looks of your two daughters, Patty and Polly, I do for 
these reasons send each of these girls a piece of chintz : 
and to Patty, who bears the name of Mrs. Washington, 
and who waited more upon us than Polly did, I send five 
guineas, with which she may buy herself any little orna- 
ments she may want, or she may dispose of them in any 
other manner more agreeable to herself. As I do not 
give these things with a view to have it talked of, or even 
of its being known, the less there is said about the matter 
the better you v/ill please me ; but that I may be sure the 
chintz and money have got safe to hand, let Patty, who, 
I dare say, is equal to it, write me a line informing me 
thereof, directed to ' The President of the United States, 
New York.' I wish you and your family well, and am 
your humble servant." 



338 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XLVIIT. 

THE EARLY EVENTS OF WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

1789-1793. 

One of the first actions of the new Government was 
to provide for the payment of the great public debt of 
about eighty millions, caused by the Revolutionary War. 
Every one agreed that the foreign debt, which was 
mostly due to France, should be paid as soon as possible ; 
but Hamilton planned not only to pay at full value all 
the paper certificates issued by Congress during the war, 
which had now come to be worth only about fifteen cents 
on a dollar, because it was never expected that the Gov- 
ernment would pay their full value, but he also proposed 
the bold plan of undertaking the State debts. He said 
that, as all these debts were the price the country had paid 
for her freedom, it was only just that tliey should be paid 
by her Government. He also wished, though he did not 
say it, to make the Central Government strong by this 
measure, and to reduce the power of the separate State 
governments, which he dreaded. There was a great deal 
of opposition in Congress to the latter part of Hamilton's 
plan. At the same time there was a bitter wrangle about 
where the permanent capital should be placed. Virginia, 
which had a small debt, was opposed to the Central Gov- 
ernment's assuming State debts, and she was anxious to 



EARLY EVENTS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION. 339 

have the new city placed on the Potomac. It was finally 
agreed that the Virginia members shonld vote for assump- 
tion, while the Northern members should vote to locate 
the capital on the Potomac. Thus the city of Washing- 
ton came to be situated in the South, and Hamilton car- 
ried his brilliant measure which was to put the Gov- 
ernment on an honorable footing. Washington was given 
cimrge of the affairs of the nevv city, and took much inter- 




THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE IN PHILADELPHIA. 



est in the planning and founding of the metropolis that 
was to bear his name, but which he always modestly called 
" the Federal City." 

While the new Capitol was building, it was agreed that 
the Government was to be removed for ten years to 
Philadelphia. As Robert Morris had been interested in 
procuring the removal of the Government to Phila- 



340 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

delphia, New Yorkers enjoyed a caricature of the 
day which represented Morris as walking off with the 
Federal Hall on his shoulders, the members of Congress 
leaning from the windows, some encouraging and some 
cursing him, while the devil from the roof of Paulus 
Hook ferry house beckoned to Morris, saying, " This way, 
Bobby." 

The Revolutionary War had excited the passions of 
the Western and Southern Indians, who were jealous of the 
steady growth of the United States westward. The new 
settlements in Kentucky were so tormented with Indian 
massacres that Kentucky came to be known once more as 
" the dark and bloody ground." The name Kentucky is 
said to signify this, and to have been given to that land 
because of the desperate encounters of Indians of various 
tribes with one another in their struggles for its possession. 
The Indians were encouraged in their warfare on the 
Americans by the commanders of the English posts which 
lay along the northern frontier of the Ohio country. In 
1790, Washington sent General Harmer into the heart of 
this Indian region with a force of fifteen hundred men 
to punish the Indians. Harmer, however, far from chas- 
tising the savages, was himself severely defeated. The next 
year Washington sent another expedition into the Indian 
country, under the command of General St. Clair. In the 
fall of 1791, St. Clair was surprised and utterly defeated by 
the Indians under the chief Little Turtle. The wounded 
and exhausted men who could not follow the retreat were 
butchered in the most horrible manner. Washington 
was dining when he received the dispatches announcing 
St. Clair's defeat. He appeared to be j^erfectly calm, at- 



EARLY EVENTS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION. 341 

tended Mrs. Washington's reception, and showed no signs 
of excitement until every one had left except his secre- 
tary, Lear, when he began to walk up and down the room, 
and suddenly burst into one of his rare fits of terrible 
anger. 

" It is all over ! " he exclaimed. " St. Clair's defeated 
— routed ; the officers nearly all killed, the men by whole- 
sale ; the rout complete — too shocking to think off — and 
a surprise into the bargain ! " 

He strode up and down again. " Here on this very 
spot I took leave of him. I wished him success and 
honor. ' You have your instructions,' said I, ' from the 
Secretary of War. I had a strict eye to them, and will add 
but one word — beware of a surprise ! I repeat it, hezvare 
of a surp7"isel You know how the Indians fight us.' He 
went off with that my last solemn warning thrown into 
his ears, and yet he suffered that army to be cut to pieces, 
hacked, butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise, the very 
thing I had guarded him against. God ! God ! 
he's worse than a murderer. How can he answer it to his 
country ? The blood of the slain is upon him, the curse 
of widows and orphans, the curse of Heaven ! " 

Washington went on pacing up and down the room. 
After a time he sat down, and said more quietly to Lear : 
" This must not go beyond this room." 

There was a long silence. The first strong passion 
was subsiding, and the cooler thoughts which usually 
governed his actions were beginning to come to him. At 
last he said : 

" General St. Clair shall have justice. I looked hastily 
through the dispatches, saw the whole disaster, but not 



3i2 '^HE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

the particulars. I will receive him without displeasure, I 
will hear him without prejudice. He shall have full jus- 
tice." 

And so he did. AYhen the ruined general arrived he 
hobbled up to Washington on his gouty feet, seized, his 
hand, and sobbed aloud. He was never reproached by the 
President. But though St. Clair was acquitted of blame 
by Congress, the popular prejudice against him was so 
great that Washington replaced him by another general. 
To aid himself in deciding on a man for this important 
position, he wrote his opinion of the qualities of the 
various officers on paper, noting any faults which might 
stand in the way of their success, and carefully weighing 
one against the other. Under the name of Wayne, he 
wrote : " More active and enterprising than judicious and 
cautious; no economist, it is feared; open to flattery; 
vain ; easily imposed upon and liable to be drawn into 
scrapes ; too indulgent (the effect, perhaps, of some of the 
causes just mentioned) to his officers and men. Whether 
sober or a little addicted to the bottle I know not." But 
after careful thought Washington chose Wayne to lead a 
new expedition into the Indian country, and his choice 
proved to be a good one. 

The country soon came to be divided into two parties. 
The Federalists were those men who believed in making 
the Central Government of the country as strong as pos- 
sible, and- who were inclined to lean toward English 
methods of governing. Hamilton was the leader of this 
party. He was a very able man, but he had little faith in 
the ability of the people to govern themselves. He ad- 
mired the British Constitution, and his enemies suspected 



EARLY EVENTS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION. 343 

him of a leaning toward royalty. Men who were of an 
opposite way of thinking began to form themselves into a 
new party known as the Kepublican party, which is not 
the same as the Republican party of our day. They be- 
lieved in government by the people, in the rights of the 
States, and were jealous of the power of the Central Gov- 
ernment. They sympathized with France in her great 
Revolution, and hated and suspected Great Britain. Jef- 
ferson became the natural leader of this party. This great 
man believed in a very liberal form of government. He 
had lived in France long enough to see all the evils of an 
aristocracy, and dreaded lest any such institutions should 
oppress our land. Both parties had right on their side, 
and did a good work — the one in iliaking the Government 
strong and powerful, and the other in preventing it from 
becoming oppressive. But it is hard for men in their own 
day to see good in both of two political parties. Washing- 
ton, though he naturally was a stronghold to the Federal 
party, wished to belong to no such divisions. They were 
.he harder for him to bear because the two great leaders 
of the parties were in his own Cabinet. Jefferson believed 
that Hamilton had a dangerous tendency toward mon- 
archy. He encouraged a paper, edited by a clerk in his 
department named Freneau, which criticised the Govern- 
ment, and especially Hamilton, without attacking Wash- 
ington. He told the President that he wished to resign, 
but Washington persuaded him affectionately to remain. 
The time had arrived for the President to decide 
whether he should accept the office for a second term. 
Both Hamilton and Jefferson urged him to do so, and thus 
carry the country through what, as it seemed to them, 



344 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

would be a period of danger. Washington said to Jeffer- 
son that he feared that people would say that, " having 
tasted the sweets of office, he could not do without them." 
He said that his hearing was failing, and " perhaps his 
other faculties might fall off and he not be sensible of it." 
He was annoyed by the attacks made upon the Govern- 
ment by Freneau's paper. He said that he considered them 
as attacking him, for he declared that he " must be a fool 
indeed to swallow the little sugarplums thrown out to 
him." 

Although Washington was tired of office and wished 
to retire once more to his home, it seemed so important 
for him to remain at the head of the Government for 
another four years that he did not refuse to be a candi- 
date for President once more. He was re-elected in 1792, 
and began his second administration in March, 1793. 



WASHINGTON'S SECOND TERM. 345 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

Washington's second term. 
1793-1797. 

Washington was inaugurated the second time, on 
the 4th of March, 1793, with very little display. He was 
dressed in mourning on account of the death of one of 
his nephews, a young man who had managed his affairs 
for some time. The foreign difficulties now became very 
great. France was in the midst of her great revolution. 
Americans sympathized strongly with the French strug- 
gle for liberty. In Boston, an ox roasted whole, with the 
French and American flags hanging from its gilded 
horns, was drawn around the streets by sixteen horses, 
after which the people feasted on it in honor of the 
French cause. But the murder of the French king, the 
fall of Lafayette, and the shocking excesses which were 
practiced in France, began to make some men doubtful. 
England, meanwhile, was sulky in her treatment of the 
United States. For some time she sent no minister to 
this country ; she held her posts on the frontier, encourag- 
ing the Indians to war, while she searched American 
ships for British subjects. Soon after the beginning of 
Washington's second term news came that France had 
declared war against England. There was great danger 
that America would be involved in the struggle. There 



346 THE STORY OF WASPUNGTON. 

were many Americans who still hated England with the 
greatest bitterness, and thought that we owed so much to 
France that we were bound to aid her against the old 
enemy. Washington was at Mount Vernon when the 
tidings of this new war arrived. He knew that though 
the country was fast becoming prosperous once more, it 
was in no state to engage in a war. He was determined 
to prevent the United States from being drawn into Eu- 
ropean struggles. He hurried to Philadelphia, consulted 
his Cabinet, and issued a proclamation of neutrality. 
Thus Washington set an example of sound policy, a 
policy that has always been followed by the United 
States in cases of foreign wars. 

A new French minister, known as Citizen Genet, 
arrived about this time in the United States. He was a 
violent man, and determined to draw America into a war 
with England. He landed at Charleston and immedi- 
ately fitted out privateers manned with American seamen, 
and sent them to cruise against English ships. Genet 
was received everywhere with great applause by the 
Americans. The people were madly in favor of French 
liberty, and Washington's neutral course was very unpopu- 
lar. There was a caricature printed about this time, 
called the funeral of Washington, in which the President 
was represented as a king placed upon a guillotine. In 
one of his Cabinet meetings Washington broke forth into 
one of his fits of passionate anger when this outrageous 
attack was mentioned. He said that he had repented 
but once having let slip the chance for resigning his 
office, and " that was every moment since." 

" I had rather be in my grave," said he, " than in my 



WASHINGTON'S SECOND TERM. 



S4:1 



present situation ; I had rather be on my farm than to be 
made emperor of the world ; and yet they are charging 
me with wanting to be a king ! " 

But though his proud nature was keenly wounded by 
the injustice of party attacks, Washington never for a 
moment thought of acting in any other way than that 




PORTRAIT UF MRS. VV AtiillxN UlDiX. 

[From a painting by Gilbert Stuart, made in 1796, called the " Athenieum 
portrait."] 

which seemed to him right, no matter how unpopular his 
actions might be. He tried to put a stop to the sending 
of privateers against English ships by the troublesome 
French minister, lest the proceedings of that ambassador 
should draw the country into war with England. But 



348 "THE STORY OP WASHINGTON. 

while he was absent at Mount Vernon Citizen Genet 
fitted up at Philadelphia the Little Susan, an English 
vessel recently captured, renamed her the Little Demo- 
crat, and let her go to sea as a privateer, though he had 
been forbidden to do this by the authorities. He started 
democratic societies in the United States in imitation of 
the French Jacobin clubs, and finally insulted the Gov- 
ernment by threatening to appeal to the American people, 
with whom he was so popular. The Government quietly 
asked France to recall him, and when it became known 
how he had threatened Washington and his Cabinet he 
lost his popularity. He was presently recalled, and a 
wiser man put in his place. 

Meanwhile both Hamilton and Jefferson resigned. 
Hamilton was to remain until the end of the session of 
Congress. Jefferson, who was really leader of the party 
opposed to much that the Government did, was in a very 
uncomfortable position, and wished to leave at the end of 
the month. Washington, who was determined not to be 
alienated from a great man like Jefferson merely because 
he did not agree with him, called on him at his house. 
He said that he wished that he himself had left office at 
the close of his last term, since he was to be deserted by 
those he counted on. He would, he feared, have great 
difficulty in finding a Secretary of State who would know 
enough about foreign affairs. Jefferson proposed Chan- 
cellor Livingston, but Washington objected that he and 
Hamilton were both from New York, and as it could not 
be known for some time that Hamilton had resigned, " a 
newspaper conflagration " would follow if Livingston were 
chosen. Other men proposed were accused of doubtful 



WASHINGTON'S SECOND TERxM. 349 

speculations or were unequal to the office. Jefferson's 
account of this talk between himself and the President 
shows how great were Washington's anxieties and how 
pure were his motives. Jefferson consented to remain in 
office a few months longer, and Edmund Randolph, the 
former Attorney-General, was finally put in his place. 

Great Britain seemed to be doing what she could to 
arouse American anger. American ships bearing corn to 
French ports were stopped and carried to England, while 
American vessels in the West Indies were seized by the 
English governors of these islands. There was a great 
war fever in the United States, and it seemed impossible 
that even Washington's steady hand could keep the coun- 
try neutral. But England presently modified her policy 
and ceased to interfere with American shi])s in the West 
Indies. It was now proposed to send Hamilton on a mis- 
sion to England, to make a treaty with that country ; but 
the Republican party was opposed to the sending of Ham- 
ilton on such a mission. Monroe, one of the leaders of 
this party, asked to have an interview with Washington 
on this subject. Washington haughtily refused to see 
Monroe, and then, acting on a generous second thought 
as he so frequently did, he a|)pointed Monroe minister to 
France. He often chose for high office men who were 
opposed to him in politics. He sent John Jay to Eng- 
land to try to settle the disputes with that country. 

In order to raise money with which to pay off the 
debt, a law had been passed putting a tax on spirits made 
in the country. This was called "drinking down the 
national debt." But the farmers who lived across the 
Alleghanies, and made their corn into whisky because it 



350 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

could not be carried in any other form across the moun- 
tains, disliked this tax very much. These people rose in an 
insurrection in 1794, and assembled on the field of Brad- 
dock's defeat. After trying in various ways to bring them 
to terms, Washington raised a small army. He inspected 
the men himself, and meant at one time to march at their 
head, but finding all well arranged, he returned to Phila- 
delphia. The army crossed the Alleghanies, to find the 
people subdued by the rumor of its approach. About the 
same time came the news of Wayne's victory over the 
Indians. This officer had been advancing slowly and 
gradually into the Indian country, building forts as he 
went. He fought the Indians in 1794, on the Maumee 
Kiver, almost under the very walls of a fort still held by 
the English, defeated them, and destroyed their cabins 
and cornfields. 

The next important event was the arrival, in 1795, of 
the Jay treaty with England. It was not a very favorable 
treaty for the United States, but it promised that the 
frontier posts should be given up, and by its acceptance a 
war with England would be avoided. The Senate voted 
that the treaty should be ratified. But when it came to 
be known how few advantages the treaty granted to the 
United States there was a great clamor against it. Meet- 
ings were held at which it was denounced; it was burned 
before the house of the British minister, the English flag 
was trailed, and Jay's effigy was carried about and then 
burned. But Washington was not to be frightened in 
this way. After much thought, he believed it best that 
the treaty should be signed, and this was done. About 
the same time some French dispatches which were cap- 



WASHINGTON'S SECOND TERM. 



351 



tured by an English vessel were sent to America. In 
them were some things which seemed to show that Ran- 
dolph, the Secretary of State, had offered to sell his influ- 
ence to the French minister. The President showed these 
papers to Randolph, and the Secretary immediately re- 
signed. Washington was obliged, now that his course 
was unpopular, to make up his Cabi- 
net of second-rate men. Randolph 
revenged himself by attacking the 
President. 

Washington had the habit of 
making speeches on the opening of 
Congress, instead of sending mes- 
sages as Presidents do now. He had 
the Virginia love of fine horses and 
equipages. He drove to Congress in 
a cream-colored coach, which was 
decorated with cupids holding fes- 
toons of flowers, and was drawn by 
six bay horses. He was preceded by 
two gentlemen bearing wands, who 
kept back the crowd when the Presi- 
dent alighted. A little boy who was 
in the crowd on such an occasion 
afterward told how Washington was 
dressed. His powdered hair had been 
gathered into a black silk bag orna- 
mented with a large rosette of black 
ribbon, and he wore a black velvet 
suit, diamond knee-buckles, square silver .shoe-buckles, 
black silk stockings, japanned shoes, a ruffled shirt, a 




SWORD PRESENTED 



WASHINGTON. 

Albany State Library. 



352 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

cocked hat, and his dress sword. The boy glided into the 
hall of Congress almost under the skirts of Washington's 
coat, but he would as soon have thought of touching an 
electric battery as touching the great man. He climbed 
upon one of the two cast-iron stoves which stood near the 
door. Once there, his eyes were fastened upon the Span- 
ish ambassador, who wore a splendid diplomatic dress, 
decorated with orders, and carried under his arm an im- 
mense hat edged with white ostrich feathers. Washing- 
ton was a hesitating speaker, and his voice had been left 
weak by lung trouble in his youth. A man who once 
heard him speak in public said that it gave him pain that 
one so great in other things should not be also great in 
this regard. 

Washington bought solid and handsome articles to 
furnish his house and his table, and he liked such dress 
as he thought suitable to the occasion, but if he was fond 
of display it was in horses. His adopted son, little 
Washington Custis, remembered how the President's white 
chargers, when he was about to use them, were covered 
over night with a paste made of wdiiting, wrapped in 
cloths, and given clean straw to sleep on. In the morn- 
ing they were rubbed till they shone like satin, their 
hoofs were blacked and polished, their mouths washed, 
their teeth picked, and they were trapped in leopard-skin 
housings. Washington w^as one of the best horsemen of 
his day, and he was a superb figure when he rode abroad 
on one of his fine animals. 

One day when President Washington was holding a 
levee an old Irish soldier of the Revolution came to the 
door and wished to see his former commander. German 



WASHINGTON'S SECOND TERM. 353 

John, the servant who stood at the President's door, ob- 
jected, but the old fellow calmly took a seat in the hall, 
and there he sat while senators, judges, ambassadors, and 
other great men came and went. When the levee was 
over the President was told that there was an obstinate 
Irishman in the hall who refused to leave until he had 
seen him. Washington stepped into the hall. 

" Lo-Hg life to your honor's excellence ! " exclaimed the 
Irish soldier. "Your honor will not remember me, 
though many's the day I have marched under your orders, 
and many's the hard knock I have had too. I belonged to 
Wayne's brigade — Mad Anthony, the British called him, 
and by the power, he was always mad enough for them ! 
I was wounded in the battle of Germantown. Hurrah 
for America ! And it does my heart good to see your 
honor ; and how is the dear lady, and all the little ones ? " 

Washington smiled, said that he was well, and Mrs. 
Washington was well, but that unfortunately they had no 
children. He then slipped a piece of money into the 
veteran's hand. 

" There, now, you old Hessian fellow," said the Irish- 
man to German John as he left the house, " you see 
his honor's excellency hasn't forgotten an ould soldier ! " 

While Washington was President his old friend La- 
fayette was thrown into an Austrian prison. The 
Marchioness de Lafayette wrote touching letters to the 
President, begging him to use his influence to get her 
husband released. He did all in his power ; he instructed 
his foreign ministers to use their influence, and he himself 
wrote to the Emperor of Germany. Meanwhile he sent 
two thousand guilders to Holland for the use of Madame 



354 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



Lafayette, writing to her that he owed Lafayette that 
amount. When the latter's son, George Washington La- 
fayette, took refuge in the United States, Washington 
caused him to be entertained in the homes of his friends. 
He feared, at first, to take him to his own home, lest it 
might cause trouble between this country and France, for 

there the young man would 
have to meet the minister 
of the French Government, 
which was persecuting his 
father. He finally threw 
aside all scruples, however, 
and took the boy and his 
tutor to his own house, until 
he returned to his parents 
on the release of Lafayette. 

Mrs. Washington enjoyed 
public life as little as did her 
husband. She spoke of the 
time she spent away from 
home as the President's 
wife as her " lost days." She 
described herself in one of her letters as a sort of " state 
prisoner." " There are," said she, " certain bounds set 
for me which I must not depart from, and as I can not do 
as I like I am obstinate and stay at home a great deal." 
She said that when she was younger, she would no doubt 
have enjoyed the innocent gayeties of life as much as 
most persons of her age, " but I have long since," said she, 
" placed all the prospects of my future worldly happiness 
on the still enjoyments of the fireside at Mount Vernon," 




DRAWING FROM A MINIATURE OF 
GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE 
CUSTIS. 

[Painted for George Lafayette, 
and returned after his death 
to Mary Custis Lee.] 



WASHINGTON'S SECOND TERM. 



355 



Washington declined to accept a third term. He was 
thoroughly weary of public life. The Federalist party 
chose John Adams for 
their candidate, and the 
Republicans Thomas Jef- 
ferson. As the man with 
the second number of votes 
in those days became Vice- 
President, and Adams was 
elected, Jefferson, who was 
of an opposite party, came 
into office as Vice-Presi- 
dent. As soon as Wash- 
ington was out of the strife 
the party papers ceased 
their bitter attacks upon 
him, and during his last 
months in office all tried 
to show the grateful love 
which the country really 
felt for him. At the inau- 

CANDLESTICK USED BY WASHINGTON 

guration of Adams Wash- when he wrote his farewell 

ington made a farewell ad- 
dress. While he was speak- 
ing Adams covered his face with both his hands and the 
tears were seen to wet his coat sleeves. The audience 
wept, and tears ran down Washington's face as he sat 
down. When the retiring President went out there was 
such a rush to see him that dignified men are said to 
have escaped from the crowd only by sliding down the 
pillars of the hall, 




address. 
[National Museum, Washington,D. C] 



356 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER L. 

AT HOME. 

1797-1799. 

Washington wrote to 
a friend that his only ob- 
,^. ject in life now 

was to make and 
p-^*//*//////-*///'" sell a little flour 
and repair his 
home. Every- 
thing that he un- 
dertook was well 
done, and barrels 
of flour marked 
with his name 
were passed in 
the West Indies 
without being 
opened for in- 
spection. Mount 

DOORWAY TO MOUNT VERNON ON THE SIDE FARTHEST Ygmon WaS "DreS- 
FROM THE RIVER. ^ 

ently transformed 
into a substantial mansion. Washington was very eager 
to improve agriculture in the South, and tried to get 
English farmers to come over and manage his planta- 







^k^ 



t-^f: 



t?^sr 



Ni 



^^m 



k 



AT HOME. 357 

tions. But a man who came from England for this pur- 
pose thought the soil of Mount Vernon poor, and did 
not think land could be made profitable where there 
were a large number of negroes, many of them useless, 
to be supported. Washington's one fault seems to have 
been a habit of close dealing — a habit which no doubt 
had done much to raise him from a poor boy to a 
rich man. Everything that came into his house was 
weighed, measured, or counted, often under his own 
eye. A mason who had plastered a room in his absence 
had been paid by measure. Washington measured the 
room on his return, and found that the man had been 
overpaid. The mason had since died, and his wife had 
married a second husband, who advertised to pay the first 
husband's debts. Washington collected from the second 
husband the fifteen shillings overpaid. A gentleman who 
crossed a ferry owned by Washington paid in a coin 
which was found to be under weight. Washington caused 
his ferryman to collect the few cents due him. He would 
not give a certain tenant a receipt for rent which was a 
trifle underpaid, and the man had to ride to Alexandria 
to make change. Colonel Lee, who was famous in Eevo- 
lutionary days as " Light-Horse Harry Lee," was once 
dining at Mount Vernon, when Washington mentioned 
that he wanted to buy a pair of carriage horses. 

" I have a fine pair, general," said Lee, " bat you can 
not get them." 

" Why not ? " asked Washington. 

" Because," answered Lee, " you will never pay more 
than half price for anything, and I must have full price 
for my horses." 



358 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



Mrs. Washington fell to laughing, and her parrot, sit- 
ting beside her, joined in the laugh. " Ah, Lee, you are a 
funny fellow," said the general, good-humoredly ; "see, 
that bird is laughing at you." Such were Washington's 
faults. He was just almost to hardness in his dealings, 
but he was generous in other matters. He gave freely to 
many useful objects. During the war he charged his 
agent at Mount Vernon to keep up his charities, that his 
poor neighbors might not suffer by his absence. He was 
always surrounded by young people whom he was help- 
ing on in the world or educating at his own expense. 

Some of these were 
his nephews and 
nieces, but some were 
not related to him. 
While he was Presi- 
dent he found time 
to write his young rel- 
atives careful letters 
of advice. He kept 
a kindly eye on their 
faults, which he tried 
to correct. When he 
sent his niece Har- 
riet, for whom he 
had been caring, to 
stay with his sister 
Betty (Mrs. Lewis) 
while he was in Philadelphia, he charged her to direct 
Harriet in the use of her clothes, " for without this," 
said he, they will be, I am told, dabbed about in 




PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON CUSTIS. 

[From a miniature owned by General G. W. 
C. Lee.l 



AT HOME. 359 

every hole and corner and her best things always in 
use." 

Washington took great pride in his two adopted chil- 
dren, Nelly and Washington. For Nelly he bought a 




NELLY CUSTls's IIAKPSIOHOKD AND STOOL, AND GENERAL WASHINGTON'S 
FLUTE. 

[Drawn at Mount Vernon.] 

harpsichord which cost a thousand dollars, and her brother 
afterward remembered how his sister would " play and 
cry and cry and play " for four or five hours a day on 
this instrument under the strict eye of Mrs. Washington. 
The grandmother was more indulgent to the boy ; and 
when he went to college and proved indolent and care- 
less Washington shed tears over his failings. On the 
other hand, he took much pleasure in Nelly. He would 
laugh heartily when she gave " a saucy description " of 
something which had happened, or played some merry 
prank. He liked to see her amuse herself with her girl 



360 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

friends, but when he found that his presence awed them 
he would leave the room. He wrote Nelly a letter of 
advice on the occasion of her first ball, which happened 
while he was still President. 

" Let me touch a little now on your Georgetown ball," 
said he, " and happy, thrice happy, for the fair who were 
assembled on the occasion that there was a man to spare ; 
for had there been seventy-nine ladies and only seventy- 
eight gentlemen, there might in the course of the evening 
have been some disorder among the caps, notwithstanding 
the apathy which one of the company entertains for the 
' youth ' of the present day, and her determination 
' never to give herself a moment's uneasiness on account 
of them.' A hint here : men and women feel the same 
inclinations toward each other noiv that they always have 
done, and which they will continue to do until there is a 
new order of things ; and yoii^ as others have done, may 
find, perhaps, that the passions of your sex are easier 
raised than allayed. Do not, therefore, boast too soon or 
too strongly of your insensibility to or resistance of its 
powers. In the composition of the human frame there 
is a good deal of inflammable matter, however dormant 
it may be for a time, and, like an intimate acquaintance 
of yours, when the torch is put to it, that which is 
within you may burst into a blaze ; for which reason, 
and especially, too, as I have entered upon the chapter 
of advices, I will read you a lecture drawn from this 
text. 

" Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is 
therefore contended that it can not be resisted. This is 
true in part only, for, like all things else, when nourished 



AT HOME. 



361 



and supplied plentifally with aliment it is rapid in its 
progress; but let these be withdrawn, and it may be 
stifled in its birth or much stinted in its growth. For 
example, a woman (the same may be said of the other 
sex), all beautiful and accomplished, will, while her hand 
and heart are undisposed of, turn the heads and set the 
circle in which she moves 
on fire. Let her marry, 
and wdiat is the conse- 
quence ? The madness 
ceases^ and all is quiet 
again. Why? Not be- 
cause there is any diminu- 
tion in the charms of the 
lady, but because there is 
an end of hope. Hence 
it follows that love may 
and ought to be under 
the guidance of reason ; 
for, although we can not 
avoid first impressions, we 
may assuredly place them 
under guard. And my motives for treating this subject 
are to show you, while you remain Eleanor Parke Custis, 
spinster, and retain the resolution to love with modera- 
tion, the propriety of adhering to the latter resolution, at 
least until you have secured your game, and the way in 
which it may be accomplished. 

" When the fire is beginning to kindle and your heart 
growing warm, propound these questions to it : Who is 

the invader? Have I a competent knowledge of him? 
2G 




PROTRAIT OF NELLY CUSTIS. 

[From a portrait owned by General G. 
W. C. Lee.] 



362 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

Is he a man of good character — a man of sense? For, 
be assured, a sensible woman can never be happy with a 
fool. What has been his walk in life ? Is he a gambler, 
a spendthrift, or drunkard ? Is his fortune sufficient to 
maintain me in the manner I have been accustomed 
to live, and my sisters live, and is he one to whom 
my friends can have no reasonable objection ? ■ If these 
interrogatories can be satisfactorily answered, there will 
remain but one more to be asked ; that, however, is an 
important one : Have I sufficient ground to conclude 
that his affections are engaged by me ? Without this 
the heart of sensibility will struggle against a passion 
that is not reciprocated, delicacy, custom, or call it by 
what epithet you will, having precluded all advances on 
your part. The declaration, without the most indirect 
invitation of yours, must proceed from the man to ren- 
der it permanent and valuable, and nothing short of 
good sense and an unaffected conduct can draw the line 
between prudery and coquetry. It would be no great 
departure from truth to say that it rarely happens 
otherwise than that a thorough-faced coquette dies in 
celibacy, as a punishment for her attempts to mislead 
others, by encouraging looks, words, or actions, given for 
no other purpose than to draw men on to make over- 
tures that they may be rejected." 

N'elly Custis afterward married Washington's nephew, 
his sister Betty's sou, Lawrence Lewis, who lived in Wash- 
ington's house as an assistant, as several of his nephews 
did at different times. Washington is said to have been 
much pleased with the match. 

Washington's habits at home were simple. He rose at 



AT HOME. 363 

four o'clock in the morning. His body servant prepared 
his clothes and combed and tied his hair, but he always 
shaved and dressed himself. His clothes were of an old- 
fashioned cut, and of plain but good material. The hair 
in those days was powdered with a ball made of cotton 
yarn, and the powder was carried in a buckskin bag. He 
visited his library and stables before breakfast. He made 
his breakfast of Indian cakes, honey, and tea. After 
breakfast he rode round his farms, a journey of from ten 
to fifteen miles. He went alone, opening gates and letting 
down bars for himself. One of the many strangers who 
came to Mount Vernon to get a look at the great man 
asked young Washington Custis how he should know him 
when he met him. 

" You will meet, sir," answered the young man, " with 
an old gentleman riding alone, in plain drab clothes, a 
broad-brimmed white hat, a hickory switch in his hand, 
and carrying an umbrella with a long staff which is at- 
tached to his saddlebow — that person, sir, is General 
Washington." 

" Thank ye, thank ye, young gentleman," answered 
the stranger. " I think if I fall in with the general I 
shall be apt to know him." 

Washington's appearance in later life was somewhat 
changed by some false teeth which he was obliged to 
wear. The teeth were carved out of a piece of hippopot- 
amus tusk, and the appearance of gums was produced by 
means of pink wax, which had often to be renewed. The 
upper and lower sets of teeth were joined together by 
little gold springs, which made an outward pressure on 
the lower jaw, and caused the lower lip to stand out in a 



36i 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



manner not natural to him, and which may be seen in his 
most famous portraits. 

Elkanah Watson, a gentleman who once visited at 
Washington's house during the later years of his life, 





PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON. 

[From a pastel by Sharpless. made in 1798. Owned by General 
G. W. C. Lee.l 



tells that, having a troublesome cough, he was astonished 
to find the great man standing by his bedside in the mid- 
dle of the night with a bowl of tea, which he wished him 
to take for his cold. With all his kindly qualities. Wash- 



AT HOME. 355 

ington had an air of dignity about him which made men 
fear to trifle with him. It is told that Gouverneur Morris 
once made a wager that he would treat Washington with 
faiiiiliarity. He accordingly went up to liim, slapped 
him on the back, and said, " How are yon this morning, 
general ? " Washington merely turned and looked at 
him, but Morris afterward admitted that he did not care 




W 



PORTRAIT OF MRS. WASHINGTON. 

[From a pastel by Sliarpless, made in 1798. Owned by General 
G. W. C. Lee.] 

to make the experiment again. Grave though he was, 
Washington was not without a sense of humor. A little 
boy who once ran after him, admiring his new clothes 
when he was coming from the tailor's in Philadelphia, 
never forgot how the great man suddenly turned round 



366 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

and made him a low bow. Colonel Humphreys once chal- 
lenged Washington to jump a hedge when they were riding 
together. Washington told Humphreys to go on. The 
colonel accordingly jumped the hedge and landed in a 
mud hole on the other side, quite up to the horse's saddle 
girths. 

" Ah, colonel," said Washington, coolly looking over at 
Humphrey's struggles from the other side of the hedge, 
" you are too deep for me." 

Washington had much of old-fashioned gallantry in 
his treatment of ladies. A letter which he wrote when 
a young man to Mrs. George William Fairfax, when she 
had twitted him on his engagement to Martha Custis, has 
sometimes been supposed to indicate that he was really 
in love with the wife of his friend while he was about to 
marry another woman, though the letter seems to express 
only the customary gallantry of an old-fashioned Vir- 
ginia gentleman toward ladies. In the same way Wash- 
ington presents himself in a letter to Madame Lafayette 
as " one of her greatest admirers," though he had never 
seen her, and pretends to be about to gain her heart, 
though he acknowledges that he has a disadvantage over 
her husband in being an old man. At another time he 
excuses himself from making a journey to France because 
it would be uncouth to talk with ladies through an inter- 
preter. Nelly Custis tells how he was always considerate 
of and affectionate to her grandmamma, though he was 
sometimes so absent-minded that his wife was forced to 
seize him by the button to attract his attention when she 
wished to say something to him. 

Mrs. Washington was now very happy, "settled 



AT HOME. 367 

down," as she said, to the pleasant duties of an old Vir- 
ginia housekeeper, " steady as a clock, busy as a bee, and 
cheerful as a cricket." A lady who visited at Mount 
Vernon tells how she found Mrs. Washington busy in her 
room ; on one side of her sat the chambermaid knitting, 
on the other a little colored pet learning to sew, and " an 
old decent woman " was near cutting out winter clothes 
for the negroes. Mrs. Washington directed them all, knit- 
ting incessantly herself. She showed her visitor several 
pairs of colored stockings and gloves she had made, and 
gave her a pair half done, asking her to finish them and 
wear them for her sake. 

Bernard, a famous English actor of those days, was 
playing in Annapolis in 1798. One day he rode to a place 
below Alexandria to visit a friend who lived on the Po- 
tomac. He was returning on horseback. An old-fash- 
ioned chaise was before him on the road. The driver of 
the chaise used the whip freely, and the horse appeared to 
be very indiiferent to it until it happened to fall on a 
galled spot and hurt the poor animal so badly that he 
threw himself back on his hind legs. One of the wheels 
went over the bank and the chaise upset, throwing out 
the owner and his young wife. A horseman who had 
been trotting gently from an opposite direction now gal- 
loped to the scene of the accident. He and Bernard dis- 
mounted and went to the assistance of the young woman, 
who was insensible. The stranger supported her while 
the actor brought water in the crown of his hat from a 
distant spring. The young woman when she returned to 
consciousness immediately began to scold her husband, 
who had been busv extricatin^: his horse. The vehicle 



368 



TPIE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



lay on its side and was heavily loaded with baggage. The 
stranger, who was an elderly man, began unloading the 
luggage, and Bernard assisted him. They then grasped 
the wheel of the heavy chaise and having righted it 
with difficulty, helped the owner to load up once more. 
It was half an hour's hot work, and the perspiration 
rolled off their faces. The owner of the chaise expressed 
his thanks by inviting the two men to go to Alexandria 
with him and take " something sociable," but they re- 
fused, and the chaise went on 
its way. The stranger now of- 
fered to brush the dust from 
Bernard's clothes, and the two 
gentlemen accordingly brushed 
each other. Bernard noticed 
that his companion was a " tall, 
erect, well-made man," dressed 
in a blue coat, buttoned to the 
chin, and buckskin breeches. 
When the older man took off his 
hat his face seemed very famil- 
iar to Bernard, who had indeed 
seen it over every fireplace and 
on many a tavern sign. Still 
he did not recognize it as that of Washington. The 
latter, however, was quick at remembering a face he had 
seen before. A smile lighted up his face. 
" Mr. Bernard, I believe?" he said. 
The actor bowed. 

" I had the pleasure of seeing you perform last winter 
in Philadelphia," said Washington. 







WASHINGTON'S POWDER BAG 
AND PUFF. 



AT HOME. 369 

Bernard explained how he happened to be in the 
neighborhood, and his companion said: "Yon must be 
fatigued. If you will ride to my house, which is not a 
mile distant, you can prevent any ill effects from this ex- 
ertion by a couple of hours' rest." He pointed to his 
house. Bernard had the day before spent half an hour 
looking at this very dwelling. 

" Mount Vernon ! " he exclaimed with a stare of won- 
der. " Have I the honor of addressing General Washing- 
ton ? " 

With a smile of rare benevolence Washington extend- 
ed his hand, and said : "An odd sort of introduction, Mr. 
Bernard ; but I am pleased to find you can play so active 
a part in private, and without a prompter." Washington 
then pointed to their two horses, standing looking at them, 
and shrugged his shoulders at the inn. 

Bernard accepted Washington's invitation, and the 
two gentlemen rode to Mount Vernon together, where 
they had a long talk while they rested. The actor ob- 
served that the great American's face had little expres- 
sion, but that the indentations over the eyes and the 
compression of the mouth seemed to show that he kept 
his passions under firm control. His voice was not rich, 
but he spoke earnestly, and his eyes were " glorious con- 
ductors of the light within." To Bernard these eyes 
seemed to say, " I am a man, and interested in all that 
concerns humanity." When the actor mentioned the 
differences he saw between New England people and 
those of the Southern States, W^ashington, who had long 
since overcome any prejudices in favor of one part of his 
country over another, said : 



370 THE STOEY OF WASHINGTON. 



'^. 



" I esteem those peoj^le greatly ; they are the stamina 
of the Union and its greatest benefactors. They are 
continually spreading themselves too, to settle and en- 
lighten less-favored quarters. Dr. Franklin is a New 
Englander." 

They then had some talk about England, and Bernard 
said that Washington's remarks were flattering to his 
country. 

" Yes, yes, Mr. Bernard," answered he, " but I con- 
sider your country the cradle of free principles, not their 
armchair. Liberty in England is a sort of idol ; people 
are bred up in the belief and love of it, but see little of 
its doings. They walk about freely, but then it is be- 
tween high walls ; and the error of its government was in 
supposing that after a portion of their subjects had 
crossed the sea to live upon a common, they would permit 
their friends at home to build up those walls around 
them." 

At this moment a slave came into the room with a 
pitcher of spring water, and Bernard could not avoid 
smiling in a way which seemed to say, " Is this your 
liberty ? " 

" This may seem a contradiction," said AVashington, 
reading his visitor's thoughts, " but I think you must per- 
ceive that it is neither a crime nor an absurdity. When 
we profess as our fundamental principle that liberty is 
the inalienable right of every man, we do not include 
madmen or idiots ; liberty in their hands would be a 
scourge. Till the mind of the slave has been educated to 
perceive what are the obligations of a state of freedom, 
and not confound a man's with a brute's, the gift would 



AT HOME. 



371 



insure its abuse. We might as well be asked to pull 
down our old warehouses before trade had increased to 
demand enlarged new ones. Both houses and slaves were 
bequeathed to us by Europeans, and time alone can 
change them — an event, sir, which, you may believe me, 
no man desires more heartily than I do. Not only do I 
pray for it on the score of human dignity, but I can 
already foresee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery 
can perpetuate the existence of our Union, by consolidat- 
ing it in a common bond of principle." 

Thus did the far-seeing mind of Washington fore- 
shadow the conflict of later days. He had some further 
talk with Bernard. His face 
lighted up vividly with pleasure 
when the actor said that he was 
surprised to meet so many men 
of talent in Philadelphia. Wash- 
ington said that men on the other 
side of the water had said that 
America had not produced one 
poet, statesman, or philosopher. 
It was easy to see, he said, why 
talent in a new country should 
tend to be scientific rather 
than imaginative. He men- 
tioned Franklin, Rittenhouse, 
and Rush, and added the names 
of Jefferson and Adams as poli- 
ticians. He ended by offering 
the actor an introduction to 




CHAIR FROM LAFAYETTE'S CHA- 
TEAU IN FRANCE. 

[Presented to Mount Vernon 
by Edmund de Lafayette.] 



my 



friend Jefferson,' as 



he called him. This shows, among other things, that 



372 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

though Jefferson was the leader of an opposite party, 
Washington never allowed the friendship to be really 
broken between himself and that other great American. 

Bernard was much impressed with Washington. To 
the actor, Washington's figure and every feature of his 
face seemed to indicate a spirit both simple and sublime. 
He said that " nine country gentlemen out of ten who 
had seen 'a chaise upset near their estate would have 
thought it savored neither of pride nor ill-nature to ride 
home and send their servants to its assistance." The 
actor felt that he had " witnessed one of the strongest 
evidences of a great man's claim to his reputation — the 
prompt, impulsive working of a heart which, having 
made the good of mankind — not conventional forms — 
its religion, was never so happy as in practically display- 
ing it." 



WASHINGTON'S LAST DAYS. 373 



CHAPTER LI. 

Washington's last days. 

1799. 

Once more before he died Washington was called 
into public life for a short time. President Adams had 
sent three commissioners to France. The French minis- 
ter, Talleyrand, treated them ill, and sent secret agents to 
them to let them know that nothing would be done until 
they paid large bribes. The three Americans sent home 
cipher dispatches in which they told how they had been 
received. President Adams thought best to publish these 
dispatches, putting the letters X, Y, and Z in place of the 
names of the secret agents. These papers came to be 
known as the X, Y, and Z dispatches, and they caused 
great excitement in America. The cry was, " Millions 
for defense, but not one cent for tribute," and the war 
spirit rose very high. Every one wished Washington to 
be the leader in case there should be war with France. 
President Adams accordingly wrote to W^ashington, ask- 
ing him to accept the command of the new army which 
was to be formed. Washington accepted, on condition 
that he was not to be called into service unless there 
should really be war, and that he should be allowed to 
name the chief officers who were to serve under him. He 
wished to put a young and able man second in command — 



3Y4 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

for old officers seldom make good ones — so he chose Ham- 
ilton first, then Pinckney, and then Knox. Adams dis- 
liked Hamilton, and tried to place Knox second in com- 
mand, as this old officer thought his due. There was 
some trouble between Washington and Adams on this 
point, but Adams was forced to give way to the great 
leader. Washington went to Philadelphia in the fall of 
1798, to work over army plans with his major-generals. 
It seemed possible that he might have to lead the Ameri- 
cans against one of Napoleon's great armies. But though 
he made careful preparations, W^ashington did not believe 
that there would be war. He thought, however, that pre- 
paring for war would be the best way to bring about peace. 
And so it proved ; for no sooner did Talleyrand see that 
the Americans were really aroused than he caused it to be 
intimated to the American minister at Holland that he 
would treat another envoy better. Adams accordingly 
sent one to France, and war was finally averted, though 
the news of the settlement did not reach America until 
after the death of her great general. 

Washington had said, " I am of a short-lived family, 
and can not remain long upon the earth." In fact his 
sister and all of his brothers except one died before he 
did. According to his usual careful habits, he made out 
a long paper, in which he planned how his estates should 
be managed for several years, with a rotation of crops. 
He finished this paper only four days before his death. 
The day before he was taken ill he walked out with his 
nephew, Lawrence Lewis, who was now married to Nelly 
Custis and living at Mount A^ernon, and talked to him 
about building a new family vault. " This change," said 



WASHINGTON'S LAST DAYS. 375 

he, " I shall make first of all, for I may require it before 
the rest." 

On the 12tli of December, 1799, Washington made the 
tour, as usual, of his plantations. The weather was very 
bad. There was rain, hail, and snow falling at different 
times, and a cold wind blowing. It was after three o'clock 
when he returned. Mr. Lear, his secretary, brought him 
some letters to be franked, for he intended to send them 
to the post office that afternoon. Washington franked 
the letters, but said that the weather was too bad to send 
a servant out with them. ^ Lear noticed that the general's 
neck appeared to be wet, and that there was snow cling- 
ing to his hair. He spoke to him about it, but Washing- 
ton said that he was not wet, as his greatcoat had y>yo- 
tected him. He went to dinner, which was waiting for 
him, without changing his clothes. The next day he 
complained of a sore throat, and remained in the house in 
the morning, as it was snowing hard. In the afternoon, 
however, he went out to mark some trees which he wished 
cut down, between the house and the river. He was quite 
hoarse by evening. He sat in the parlor, however, with 
Mrs. Washington and Lear, reading the papers which had 
been brought from the post office. He read some things 
aloud in spite of his hoarseness. At nine o'clock Mrs. 
Washington went to the room of her granddaughter 
Nelly, whose first child had recently been born. The 
two gentlemen continued to read the papers, and Wash- 
ington seemed cheerful. Once he became excited over 
some political event, and used some of the strong Avords 
he could command on occasion. Before they went to bed 
Lear advised the general to take sometliing for his cold. 



^^Q THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

" No," said Washington ; " you know I never take 
anything for a cold. Let it go as it came." 

During the night, however, he had a chill, and awoke 
Mrs. Washington, telling her that he felt ill. She wished 
to get up, but he would not allow her to do this, lest she 
should take cold. When the servant came into the room 
to make a fire at daylight, Mrs. Washington sent for Lear 
and got up herself. The general was now breathing with 
difficulty and could scarcely speak. Lear sent for Dr. 
Craik, and meantime W^ashington told him to send for 
Mr. Rawlins, an overseer, to bleed him. Rawlins came 
soon after sunrise, and trembled at the prospect of open- 
ing a vein on the great man's arm. " Don't be afraid," 
said Washington ; and when the vein had been opened, 
he added, " the orifice is not large enough." Mrs. Wash- 
ington did not approve of the bleeding before the doctor 
came, but AVashington said, " More, more." It was a 
universal remedy in those days, but it brought no relief to 
the sufferer. 

During the day three doctors arrived. Washington 
was bled again three times ; blisters were applied to the 
throat and to the feet ; all that medical science could do 
in that day was tried, but without success. The disease 
was an acute laryngitis, and could have been relieved only 
by tracheotomy, which was not practiced in the South, 
though it had been tried in Philadelphia at an earlier 
date. About half past four in the afternoon the sick man 
asked Mrs. Washington to go downstairs and fetch two 
wills from his desk. He looked at them, and asked her to 
burn one of them, which she did. Lear now came to his 
bedside and took his hand. 



27 



WASHINGTON'S LAST DAYS. 377 

" I find I am going," Washington said to him. " My 
breath can not last long. I believed from the first that 
the disorder would prove fatal. Do you arrange and re- 
cord all my late military letters and papers. Arrange 
my accounts and settle my books, as you know more about 
them than any one else, and let Mr. Kawlins finish record- 
ing my other letters which he has begun." 

Washington asked Lear whether he thought of any- 
thing else that ought to be done, for he had but a very 
short time, he said, to remain with his friends. The 
secretary answered that he could think of nothing, and 
that he hoped the general was not so near his end as he 
thought. Washington smiled, and said that he certainly 
was, " and that, as it was a debt which we must all pay, 
he looked on the event with perfect resignation." 

Sometimes he seemed to be in pain and distress from 
the difficulty of breathing, and was very restless. Lear 
would then lie down upon the bed and raise and turn him 
as gently as possibly. Washington often said, " I am 
afraid I shall fatigue you too much ;" and when the young 
man assured him that he wished for nothing but to give 
him ease, Washington replied : 

" Well, it is a debt we must pay to each other, and I 
hope that when you want aid of this kind you will find 
it." 

He noticed that his servant, Christopher, had been 
standing most of the day, and told him to sit down. He 
asked when his nephew Lewis and his adopted son Custis, 
who were away from home, would return. When his life- 
long friend Dr. Craik came to his bedside, he said : " Doc- 
tor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. I believed 



378 THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

from my first attack that I should not survive it. My 
breath can not last long." The doctor was unable to 
answer from grief, and could only press his hand. 

He afterward said to all the physicians : " I feel myself 
going. I thank you for your attentions ; but, I pray you, 
take no more trouble about me. Let me go off quietly ; I 
can not last long." He continued to be restless and un- 
easy, but made no complaints, only asking now and then 
what time it was. When Lear helped him to move, he 
gave the secretary a look of gratitude. About ten o'clock 
at night he made several efforts to speak to Lear before 
he could do so. He finally said : " I am just going. Have 
me decently buried ; and do not let my body be put into 
the vault in less than three days after I am dead." Lear 
nodded, for he could not speak. 

" Do you understand ?" asked Washington. 

" Yes." 

" 'Tis well," said the dying man. 

About ten minutes before death his breathing became 
easier ; he felt his own pulse, and the expression of his 
face changed. One hand presently fell from the wrist of 
the other. Lear took it in his and pressed it to his 
bosom. 

Mrs. Washington, who sat near the foot of the bed, 
asked in a firm voice, " Is he gone ? " 

Lear was unable to S23eak, but made a sign that Wash- 
ington was dead. 

" 'Tis well," said she ; " all is now over ; I shall soon 
follow him ; I have no more trials to pass through." 

Washington died on December 14, 1799, in his sixty- 
eighth year. All his neighbors and relatives assembled to 



WASHINGTON'S LAST DAYS. 379 

attend his funeral ; the militia and Freemasons of Alexan- 
dria were present ; eleven pieces of artillery were brought 
to Mount Vernon to do military honors, and a schooner 
which lay in the Potomac fired minute guns. Washing- 
ton's horse, with saddle, holster, and pistols, was led be- 
fore the coffin by two grooms dressed in black. The 
body was deposited in the old family vault, after short and 
simple ceremonies. Washington was deeply mourned all 
over the United States, for never had a man been so be- 
loved by his own countrymen. 

Washington left all of his estates to his wife for life ; 
after her death they were to be divided between his neph- 
ews and nieces and Mrs. Washington's grandchildren. 
He made his nephew, Bushrod Washington, his principal 
heir, leaving Mount Vernon to him. He said that he did 
this partly because he had promised the young man's 
father, his brother John Augustine, when they were 
bachelors, to leave Mount Vernon to him in case he 
should fall in the French war. He willed that all his 
negro slaves should be set free on the death of his wife. 
He said that he earnestly wished that it might be done 
before this, but he feared it would cause trouble on ac- 
count of their intermarriages with the dower negroes 
who came to Mrs. Washington from her first husband, 
and whom he had no right to free. He willed also that 
such negroes as were too old or too young to support 
themselves should be comfortably clothed and fed by his 
heirs. To his five nephews he left his swords, with the 
injunction that they were " not to unsheath them for the 
purpose of shedding blood, except it be in self-defense, or 
in defense of their country and its rights ; and in the lat- 



380 



THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 



ter case to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with 
them in their hands to the relinquishment thereof." 

Washington's life is an open book. He knew that he 
was making history, and he kept careful co^^ies of all his 
most important letters and writings, so that it is impos- 




IHE VM LT IN 

W IIICH A\ \>^HI^(JTON 

W\S BURIED. 



sil)le that there should be 
doubts on any very important 
point. So jealous was he of his own 
honorable reputation, that his last act as President w^as 
to file a denial of the authenticity of some spurious letters 
which were attributed to him by his political enemies. 
These letters were first published during the Revolution 
by the English, and purported to be written by Washing- 
ton to Lund Washington, to Mrs. Washington, and to 



WASHINGTON'S LAST DAYS. 381 

John Parke Custis. The person who wrote them knew 
something of Washington's private affairs, but he made 
the American general say things which represented him 
as opposed to the independence of the colonies. It was 
asserted that Washington in his retreat from New York 
left his servant Billy behind, and that these papers were 
found in a handbag which the valet carried. As it was 
well known in the army that Billy had never been cap- 
tured, Washington did not then think it needful to deny 
having written these letters ; but when they were brought 
forward again by his enemies during the last years of his 
presidency, he was alarmed lest they should go down to 
history as his own. Most of Washington's Avritings which 
are preserved show him to us only as a grave public char- 
acter, and lives of Washington drawn mainly from this 
source are apt to make the great man seem unnaturally 
cold, dignified, remote, and impressive. So usual has this 
view of Washington become, that there is a common be- 
lief that he never laughed aloud — a belief which there are 
many stories to refute. In order to make Washington 
seem the truly human man that he was, many personal 
anecdotes have been introduced into this book. 

Washington had immense physical courage. In all 
the battles in which he fought he exposed himself fear- 
lessly. His moral courage was even greater. He never 
shrank from doing what he thought right because it was 
likely to make him unpopular. Perhaps Washington's 
greatest qualities were his wisdom and prudence. These 
traits were very important in the leader of a young peo- 
ple engaged in a revolutionary struggle. He had few 
brilliant military successes, but it is impossible to say what 



» THE STORY OF WASHINGTON. 

l.+j rnight not have done had he not been weighed down 
i y immense difficulties. His influence over men was 
great, and those who were under him loved him. He was 
never swayed by mean motives, his actions were always 
honorable, and he was generous even to those who were 
his bitter opponents. Though he was a man of action, 
he thought deeply on many subjects. " Never," said 
Jefferson, " did nature and fortune combine more per- 
fectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same 
constellation with whatever worthies have merited from 
man an everlasting remembrance." 



THE END. 



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